Let This Life Begin
by Lucypup12
Summary: Alex is just a lonely girl who has an unlucky past. When Sam and Dean come to investigate her father's unfortunate death, she finds a chance to help hunt the things that destroyed her life. Starts right before the episode Home(Season 1). I will try to follow canon but might make a few changes here and there. I don't own Supernatural, just my characters. Possible Sam/OC.
1. On My Own

"So where are we going?" Sam asked from the passenger seat of the Impala.

"Sisters, Oregon." Dean said and tossed a newspaper article at Sam.

"Man's death attributed to spirits? What kind of paper is this?" Sam asked.

"I found it online. A kid named Alex saw his dad's car crash. The man swerved to miss a girl in the road. The girl that was seen in the road had been dead two weeks."

"You believe this?" Sam asked.

"Yes. Now shut up and help me find this town. It's tiny and in the middle of nowhere. We should hit it in about 20 minutes." Dean said. Sam rolled his eyes but began taking in the scenery. The ground was dry and dusty. There were lots of tall trees but they were all at least a five foot radius from each other. Finally houses began appearing on the sides of the road.

"So what's the guy's address?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. The general store's right there. We can see if anyone there knows the family." Dean said. He parked the Impala in front of the store and hopped out. "And we can pick up some food. I'm starving man."

"We ate less than an hour ago." Sam said as they walked in. The store was small to say the least. It looked more like a convenience store than the only store a town had. A teenage girl wearing cut-off jean shorts and a green football jersey with the number 21 on it was paying for some beef jerky and chips at the counter. Dean strolled up next to her and looked at the man behind the register. Sam shook his head but began looking around for some food for himself. "Hi. My name's Andy Rocket. I'm with the paper, and I was looking to do a story on that car crash a couple days ago.

"Oh you mean Mr. Thuman's?" the girl asked.

"Yeah that's the one." Dean said. "Do you know who I could talk to to get some information?"

"Uh his family. His daughter Alex saw it." the girl told Dean.

"Daughter?" Dean said, a bit surprised. "Right. Do you know where they live?"

"Sure. Keep going down this road for about five minutes. When it veers off to the right, there's a left turn. Turn left, go down that, take the fourth left. Their house will be the fifth on the right. One story, yellow, barn to the right in between the two properties." the girl offered.

"Thanks." Dean said. Sam came up and put his collection of food on the counter.

"No problem." the girl said with a small smile. "Oh Mr. Barnes I'm actually going to need a couple more things. Go ahead and ring these boys up first." she added and walked towards the back of the store. The shopkeeper smiled at her and nodded.

"Will this be all for you boys?" he asked.

"Yes sir." Dean said and pulled some bills out to pay. Mr. Barnes took the money and gave Dean the change. Dean nodded at him and took the bags. "Thank you." he said and turned to leave. He nodded to the girl at the back of the store who nodded back before going back to the Impala.

"Really Sammy? Pork rinds?" Dean asked once they were back inside the Impala.

"Yes. Now let's go." Sam retorted. The girl inside the store walked back up to the counter.

"Why'd you give them the long route?" Mr. Barnes asked her.

"To give me time to get back before they do." the girl said. She slid a twenty dollar bill onto the counter and walked out. She tossed the food into the basket on her bike parked outside. She hopped on and pedaled quickly in the opposite direction she had sent the Winchesters.

Sam and Dean eventually made it down to the house the girl had instructed.

"That one there." Dean said, gesturing to a single story house on the right side of the road. Dean parked the Impala in front of the house. The boys got out and walked up to the front door.

"What's our cover story?" Sam asked.

"Reporters." Dean said.

"The girl won't want to talk to reporters. Look. The people across the street are selling their house. How about we're buying?" Sam suggested.

"Fine college boy." Dean said, irritated with Sam's constant search for flaws in his plans. Sam knocked on the door. A slightly frazzled woman opened the door.

"Hi. I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean. We're moving in across the street and just wanted to introduce ourselves.

"Oh. Hi. I'm Jackie Thurman." the woman said.

"Is there a motel in town? We were supposed to stay with our aunt until we could move in, but she got sick." Dean asked.

"Uh no. But we have a spare room if you would like to stay for a couple days." Jackie suggested.

"Thank you Ms. Thurman." Sam said politely. She opened the door wider and allowed the boys in.

"My room is at the end on the left and Alex's is the door at the end. I'll introduce you." Jackie said. She led the way down the hall. "Oh and the bathroom is the first door on the left. You will be staying in the room on the right." She knocked on the door at the end of the hall. "Alex?" she called. No reply. She opened the door to the room. A girl sat on the bed with headphones in and a laptop on her lap. Her curly blonde hair didn't quite reach her shoulders. She wore a green football jersey with the number 21 on it. Her eyes were closed, and she was mouthing lyrics to whatever song was playing. The girl looked up at the newcomers. Her hazel eyes took in the two young men. "Alex, this is Sam and Dean." Jackie said gesturing to each. "They're going to be staying with us for a few days." Alex nodded and took an earbud out.

"Hi. I need to feed Outlaw and Grave." She shut the laptop and walked past the people in her doorway without another word. Sam and Dean's jaws dropped.

"That's Alex?" Dean asked. It was the same girl from the store. The only difference was that the girl had changed into full length jeans.

"Yes. Sorry about her. She saw the accident that killed her father a week ago. Not that much has changed, but she is a little worse than before." Jackie said apologetically.

"She was like that before the accident?" Dean asked.

"Well... If you want to know the story you can ask her. I don't even know all of it." Jackie said. "She'll be in the barn next to the house."

"Thank you." Sam said. He and Dean turned and went outside. They walked around the house to the back. A pen was empty and the doors to a small barn were open. They walked in and heard rock music playing.

"Nice music choice." Dean commented. Alex turned around from brushing the large buckskin horse.

"Thanks." she said with a small smile.

"You don't look like the type." Dean added.

"I know. Can you name the band?" Alex asked.

"Nope. Never heard 'em before. Who are they?" Dean asked, hoping to start up a decent conversation.

"Three Days Grace. They're one of my favorites. The song's _Let it Die_" Alex said. The horse bumped her with his nose. "Sorry boy." she said and resumed brushing him. "Can I help you two? Is it Dean? Or Andy?" she asked Sam and Dean.

"Dean. How did you get back here before we did?" Dean said.

"I told you guys the long way to get here. I went the short way on my bike." Alex explained. Dean nodded his approval. "And are you buying the house across the street or reporters?"

"We were wondering what happened to your dad." Dean said bluntly, avoiding her question. Alex's face fell a bit.

"Can you two ride? I have to get these guys exercised." she asked, taking her turn to avoid a question.

"Uh. I've ridden a pony like once at a fair." Dean said.

"Good enough. We just walk anyways." Alex said. "Sam, since you're taller, you'll ride Outlaw." she said gesturing to the horse behind her. "Dean will ride Leia."

"Who's Leia?" Dean asked.

"She's the neighbor's horse, but they're on vacation, so I have to exercise her too." Alex explained. "We'll get Outlaw ready first though." Alex said. She turned and pulled the heavy Western saddle off a rack on the wall. Dean moved to help her. "Thanks." Alex said shyly. She slid most of the weight onto Dean's arms and pulled the blanket out from under the saddle. She walked into Outlaw's stall and put the blanket on his back. Then she came back out and took the saddle from Dean. "Thanks again." she said quietly. She walked back into the stall and put it on Outlaw as well. She cinched the girth quickly and came back out. "Bridle. Still need a bridle." she said, more to herself than the boys. She pulled one off the wall and pulled it over Outlaw's head. She led him out of his stall and then outside. She tied the reins to a post and walked back in. "Let's go get Leia." she said.

"What about your horse?" Sam asked.

"I can get Grave ready a lot faster because I'll ride English. I'm putting you guys on Western because it's easier and your horses are better with it." Alex said as she strode over to the neighbor's barn. A mare nickered at Alex from her stall. "Hey Leia." Alex said and rubbed the horse's nose. Then she quickly tacked up Leia in the same way she had tacked up Outlaw. She led Leia out and tied her up on the post next to Outlaw. "Well you guys are ready. Come back in while I tack up Grave and get you guys helmets. No you do not get to wear a Stetson." she said when she saw Dean start to interrupt.

"Aw come on." Dean moaned. He cocked his head and gave her his best puppy eyes. Alex rolled her own.

"Fine. We're only walking anyways." she said with a smile and a shake of her head. She quickly tacked up Grave and led him outside. "Wait here and don't try to mount." she warned. She tied him up and headed back into the barn one more time. She came back out with a helmet on her head and two Stetsons in her hands. The Winchesters took them and put them on their heads.

"Howdy partner." Dean said with an exaggerated accent. "How come you're wearing a helmet?"

"Ha ha. Very funny." Alex said in regard to his first comment. "I have to give Grave a more strenuous workout." Alex explained. "So mounting. I'll demonstrate then walk you through it." she said. She stood on Grave's left side, put her foot in the stirrup, and swung up. "Pretty easy." she said before swinging back down. "Dean, you mount first. Stand on Leia's left side. Put your left hand on the pommel and your right hand on the back of the saddle." Dean tried to follow her instructions. Alex chuckled. "Not quite." she said. She took Dean's left hand and moved it into the correct place. "There. Now put your left foot in the stirrup. Be careful not to kick her." Dean put his foot in carefully. "Good. Now turn your foot so that your toe is facing the front." Dean did as he was told. "Nice. Now push off your right foot. Swing over her back and try to sit down gently. Then try putting your right foot in the stirrup. Dean swung up easily and sat down. "Nice work Dean."

"I can't get the damn stirrup." Dean said.

"Careful, don't kick her. Let me help." Alex said. She walked carefully behind Leia. "Stay sitting straight up. Just relax your leg." She turned the stirrup the direction it needed to face and slipped it under Dean's foot. "You're set. Just sit up there and relax. She's still tied up but could pull the reins loose." Alex warned. Then she turned to Sam. "Your turn." Sam was already on the left side and had his hands in place. "You're way ahead of me. Good. Now put your left foot up." Sam tried but missed and kicked Outlaw. The horse shifted and blew out. Sam blushed. "Don't worry about it. Outlaw can just be a sissy at times. Try again." Sam tried again and got it. "You heard what I told your brother?"

"Yeah." Sam said and swung up lightly. He put his right foot in the stirrup easily.

"You boys are quick learners." Alex said. "Now the reins. Sam's first because I'm over here." She undid the reins and handed each to Sam. "It's pretty easy. Hold them both in your right hand. Your left hand can either hold the pommel or just rest on your leg. Pull towards the left to turn left and the right to turn right. Pull back on both to stop, not too hard though. Their mouths are sensitive." She instructed. "Hold them tight for now." She walked over to Dean and untied his reins and handed them to him. "Same goes for you." Then she undid Grave's reins and mounted him. "Now give them a gentle nudge in the side." The boys both did and their horses started walking. They got onto the road before they noticed Alex hadn't started. They stopped their horses and turned around. "Hold on a second. Sorry." Alex said. She was walking out of the barn again. "Forgot to turn off the music." She mounted Grave again and nudged him right into a trot to reach the boys. "There are some nice little trails up here. Now we can talk if you want to." she said as they resumed walking up the road.


	2. Born Like This

"What's your story?" Dean asked.

"A fairly long one." Alex said with a sigh. "It started about three weeks ago. Two of my friends wanted to go see the new Hunger Games movie. I couldn't have cared less about the movie, but I said I would go. Well it came around, and I did what any normal teenager does when they don't want to go somewhere. I faked sick. They were mad and could tell I was faking, but there was nothing they could do. They were on their way home when a squirrel ran across the road. My friend swerved to miss it but hit a sign. It cut through the car and killed them both almost instantly. I was almost there with them." Alex said with a shudder. "Then a week ago, my dad was on his way home from work. I was jumping out front with Grave when he turned around the corner. All of a sudden he swerved and I saw..." Alex paused at this point. "I saw my friend, Abby. She was in the car crash and dead. But there she was. He hit a tree and was killed instantly."

"When did you start being, antisocial?" Dean asked. Alex gave a forced laugh.

"I've always been antisocial. And as 'bad' as I am now? About a year ago. But that's another story that you don't want to hear." Alex said, a bit of a sad smile crossing her face. Sam looked at her, his eyes clearly saying that he did want to hear it. Alex rolled her own. "Let me rephrase that. I don't want to talk about it."

"We understand." Sam said gently. Alex smiled at him.

"What about you guys? What's your story?" Alex asked. "Shouldn't you be in college or something?"

"We're just taking a summer road trip. You know, brother bonding time." Dean bluffed.

"Cool." Alex said. She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She looked up and pulled her horse to a stop. Sam and Dean did the same. "This path can be a bit rocky, just warning you. It shouldn't be a problem though." she cautioned. She nudged Grave back into a walk.

"You were playing good music earlier. What other bands do you like?" Dean asked, trying to start up the conversation again.

"I have a rather, eclectic, music taste. Mostly modern rock though. I like Black Veil Brides, Three Days Grace, Green Day, Rise Against, Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, and Bring Me the Horizon to name a few. What about you?"

"Uh Metallica, AC/DC. Lots of classic rock." Dean said. They reached a split in the path.

"I'm gonna leave you two here for a minute." Alex said.

"What for?" Sam asked.

"I told you. Grave needs a real workout. Hold your horses tight. Wait here. Try not to spook them." Alex gave brief instructions. Then she turned to the right path and kicked her horse into a canter.

"What isn't she telling us?" Sam asked.

"Huh?" Dean asked.

"The 'other story' that she didn't want to tell us. There's something else wrong. Worse than friends dying. Which is bad." Sam said.

"We'll get it out eventually." Dean said. At that second, Alex came galloping around the curve a couple hundred yards away. Her horse jumped over the logs laid across the path. He jumped the last one, and Alex slowed him to a walk. She patted his shoulder as she approached, a wide grin on her face.

"Wow." Sam said. Alex's grin broadened.

"Best feeling in the world. Flying free." she said. "We can go back now."

"Is this how you spend your free time?" Sam asked.

"Pretty much. It's really the only thing that keeps me going. Life sucks. But out here, I can forget about all of it." They all turned their horses around and began walking back.

"Just wondering, why was your mom so okay with us just staying?" Dean asked.

"She's still pretty shaken up about my dad's death." Alex said with a shrug as though she couldn't understand the feelings.

"You know, for someone whose dad just died, you don't seem very upset." Sam said.

"I don't waste my time on emotions. Being sad won't bring him back." Alex said bluntly.

"I'm guessing you two weren't real close." Dean said.

"We could have been. I chose for us not to be." Alex said, sounding almost remorseful.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"I've learnt that in the end, people always leave. They die, they move away, or just fade out. And it hurts when they leave that hole in your heart. Don't get close to people, less holes. Less problems." Alex explained.

"Isn't it hard though? Being lonely?" Sam asked.

"I'll take lonely over broken apart all the time. There's a saying, 'You can't protect from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.' It's a price, but worth it in my opinion."

"Who'd you lose?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"Logic like that. You've lost someone. And you don't ever want to feel that again. That emptiness. And even worse, that feeling that there was something, anything you could have done to save them." Sam said. Dean looked at his brother, surprised by this show of emotion.

"I said I didn't want to talk about it." Alex said. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Sam began.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine. I'm fine." Alex interjected. By this point they were back on the paved road and turning in front of the barn.

"Well thanks for the ride." Dean said as they stopped.

"No problem." Alex said with a smile returning to her face. "I'll un-tack them. You guys can go inside. Oh wait. Dismounting. I'll demonstrate then help you guys." She leaned over her horse's neck and swung over to land on his left side. She pulled the reins over his head and tied him to one of the posts. "See? Not too bad. Dean can go first. Take your feet out of the stirrups." Alex instructed. Dean's feet flailed a bit, but he managed to get them out before kicking the horse. "Nice. Now lean forward on her neck." Dean did and almost fell off. "Woah. Careful there." Alex said. She moved a step closer to the horse. "Now just swing your right leg over, without kicking her, and slide down." Dean's slide was a bit less graceful than it should have been, Alex just chuckled. "Not bad for your first time on a real horse." she said. "Can you hold her while I help Sam?"

"Oh sure." Dean said and took the reins back.

"Thanks." Alex said with a smile. She walked over to Sam and Outlaw. "Okay. Did you hear all that?"

"Yeah. I think I got it." Sam said. He got his feet out of the stirrups much easier than Dean.

"Good. Now lean forward." Sam did and he too almost slid off right there. Alex laughed again. "You too." she said and helped push him back on center before backing away. Sam swung his right leg over and landed much more gracefully than Dean. Alex handed him the reins. Then she untied her horse and led the way inside. "Don't follow too close behind me." she cautioned. She brought Grave over to the right and Sam followed. Dean pulled over to the left side of the barn. "Just put a loose knot on the hooks on the doors and I'll take care of them. Now you're free to go. There's food in the kitchen. Help yourself to whatever. Dinner's whenever you feel like it. I'll be in in a few minutes." Sam and Dean walked out of the barn and to their car. They pulled their duffel bags out of the Impala and headed inside to the room Ms. Thurman had indicated. There was a real bed as well as an inflatable mattress on the floor. Dean threw his bag onto the real bed. Sam shook his head but set his on the inflatable mattress.

"Is everything good in here?" Alex said from the doorway.

"Oh yeah thanks. Where's your mom?" Dean asked.

"Uh probably at work." Alex said. She glanced down at her watch. "Yeah it's 6. She's at work. She won't get home until about 2 am. I can cook dinner if you guys want. I can do pasta or pasta or pasta. Or we can just throw together whatever's in the kitchen." Alex said. Her eyes wandered around the room. She seemed distracted by the bare green walls.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Alex said, her gaze returning to the Winchesters. "So for dinner?"

"Throw together sounds good." Dean said.

"Cool." Alex said. "I'll be...out back if you need me." With that, she spun around and walked out. Sam and Dean heard the door shut as she left the house. They finished unpacking before standing up and looking around.

"Let's go get the kid. I'm hungry." Dean said.

"You're always hungry." Sam said but headed out with Dean. They opened the back door and found an unfenced backyard that seemed to run to the back of the house about a quarter mile across the field. There were a lot of sparse trees and in between several of them, was what appeared to be a fort. Taking a guess, they walked towards the small circular fort. As they approached, they could see Alex inside the spiny fort. There was a solid wall of boards around the trees and surrounding it were sharp gray branches, all covered in thorns.

"Quite the fort you've got here." Dean said. Alex looked up from the paper she was writing on.

"What's up?" she asked, quickly pushing away the papers.

"We were just wondering if you were hungry. We were going to eat." Dean explained.

"Oh sure." Alex said. She picked up the stack of papers by her side and lifted a latch on the wooden slat to her right. She knocked the sharp outer branch off and pushed open the 'door.' Replacing the branch, she stood up and began walking back to the house.

"What were you writing?" Sam asked.

"Uh...stuff." Alex said, blushing slightly.

"Really no way." Dean said sarcastically. "What kind of stuff?"

"Erm...haha...uh...poetry." Alex said, her blush deepening to a crimson.

"Poetry? Really? What kinds?" Sam asked, more curious than insulting.

"Free verse mostly. Sort of about whatever I feel like. I keep 'em out here because, well, I don't want my mom, or anyone, finding them. They're kind of personal." Alex said. She smiled sheepishly at Sam. They were back at the house and Alex opened the back door into the house. She put the stack of papers on the counter and opened the pantry.

"Well we've got loads of chips, crackers. I can make rice. Got some fruit in that bowl." she said, gesturing to a bowl on top of the microwave. "Popcorn, condiments. Bread. Could make sandwiches. Cereal. Geez, does my mom cook when I'm not here?" Alex said, the last sentence more to herself.

"What do you mean when you're not here?" Dean asked.

"My parents were divorced." Alex said simply. She shut the pantry and moved to the fridge.

"Oh I'm sorry." Sam said.

"It's no big deal. They got divorced when I was two or three. Honestly, I can't even remember the time when they were together." she said without looking away from the fridge. "Let's see. Uh veggies. Gross. Hummus, yogurt, cheese. Lunch meat. Jackpot, hot dogs. Wait we have bacon? Found breakfast for tomorrow. Anything sounding good?"

"I'll just slap together a sandwich thanks." Dean said. Alex tossed him the loaf of bread.

"Can I have a hot dog?" Sam asked.

"Sure." Alex said. She microwaved two hot dogs and handed Sam one of them. "Here you go. I'm gonna watch some TV." She settled herself on the couch and turned on Doctor Who. The Parting of the Ways was on. "Crap. Different episode."

"What's wrong with that one?" Dean asked as he sat down next to her.

"It's just kind of sad. And I don't really want to watch something sad right now." Alex said. She flipped to Boom Town. "Much better." They all ate their food in silence, watching the TV intently. They finished a couple minutes after the episode. Sam and Dean leaned back into the couch.

"That was pretty funny but kind of weird." Sam said. "What was she called again?"

"Raxacoricofallapatorian." Alex said without hesitation.

"Right. Of course." Sam said.

"Family was the Slitheen. And her name is Blon." Alex added.

"How do you know all of this so quickly?" Dean asked.

"I've seen it a few times. Waiting for Season 2 is hard." Alex shrugged.

"Those monsters were pretty freaky. Like taking over fat people in the government." Dean said.

"Yeah. This show has given me a long list of normal things that are no longer safe or normal. Gas masks for one."

"Gas masks?" Dean asked.

"Another episode. One of my favorites." Alex said. "I'll be in my room if you need me." she said. She put her plate in the kitchen before picking up her papers and heading to her room. She chose one of the many pencils she had in her nightstand and resumed writing. Midnight came and went. 2 am rolled around and the front door banged open.

"Alexandra!" Ms. Thurman's voice shouted loudly into the dark house. Alex closed her eyes before slipping the papers under her bed and opening the door.

"What?" she called back in a loud whisper. "Don't wake the boys. Remember?"

"I remember just fine." her mother called her voice just as loud. She stood in the hallway. "Why didn't you make dinner? I work my butt off for you, and you don't do anything around here!" she said, her voice even louder now. "I've had a stressful day and all I ask for is a little help!" Alex stepped into the hallway and approached her mother. Unknown to both women, Sam and Dean were listening at their door. "I am sick and tired of your laziness!" She finished the final sentence and slapped Alex on the cheek.

"That's it! I'm done! I do nothing wrong, but you have a crappy day and you come shouting at me for your problems. You're always on the edge of the breaking point, yelling at something almost every night! I'm sick of you! I hate you and I wish you had died in the car with Dad!" Alex shouted. She stormed past her mother and out the back door. Her mother stood frozen for a second. Usually the teen just stood silently while she ranted. She walked numbly forward and into her room. She laid down on the bed and began sobbing quietly. Alex, who had gone to the barn, was slumped on the floor doing the same thing.


	3. Scared

As soon as he heard the woman's door close, Sam slipped out of the room he was sharing with Dean.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked from the doorway.

"To talk to Alex." Sam said.

"You want to talk to a crying teenage girl?" Dean asked.

"Dean, her dad just died, she and her mom clearly don't get along, and she has something worse on her shoulders. Yes, I'm going to talk to her." Sam said, a bit exasperated with his older brother. He continued out of the house and through the back door. As far as he knew, there were two places she would go to get away but not too far away. Taking a chance, Sam headed to the barn first. The door was cracked open and he could faintly hear quiet sobbing. He opened the door a bit more.

"Alex?" he whispered into the dark barn. There was a louder sniff before a reply came.

"Yes?" Alex replied, obviously still trying to stifle the tears.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, though he knew it was a stupid question.

"Not really." came the voice from the corner. The barn was almost pitch black. There was only a small amount of light coming in from the door. Alex stood up and felt her way along the wall. She reached forward and felt Sam's arm. Sam could faintly see her outline in the light. He put his arm around her shaking shoulders. She leaned in closer to him and put her head on his chest.

"It's gonna be okay." he said, not really sure of what else he could say. Alex sniffed loudly again and struggled to regain some composure.

"Thanks Sam." she said shakily.

"No problem." Sam said quietly. The two stood in silence for probably a minute before speaking again.

"Can we go back inside? It's a little stuffy in here." Sam asked.

"Sure." Alex said with a smile up at Sam. The two walked slowly back to the house, silent again. They slipped back into the quiet house and both went into Alex's room. They sat next to each other on the bed.

"You think you're going to be okay for the rest of the night?" Sam asked.

"I think so. Thanks again." Alex said, her composure and her shyness back.

"It was nothing. See you in the morning." Sam said and went back to his and Dean's room.

"Well how'd it go?" Dean asked from one of the beds.

"Not bad. Kid wasn't too bad. She recovered quickly. She really doesn't seem all that broken up." Sam said and settled himself onto the mattress on the floor. He picked up his laptop and began looking for anymore stories about Mr. Thurman's death. Soon the sun was coming up again. Neither one of the brothers was eager to go out and run into Ms. Thurman. They both had enough experience to know just to give her space and time. Around eight, Dean slipped out to grab some food from the kitchen. He came back with muffins and a banana for Sam.

"Please tell me you've got some information on the kids or Thurman's death." Dean complained when he came back in.

"Not really. Alex was the only witness to her dad's death. No one saw the other girls' crash. Alex's story seems a bit weak for a vengeful spirit, but maybe not for teenage girls. It might actually be enough." Sam said with a sigh.

"And there are no other explanations for her dad's death?"

"Nothing." Sam said.

"Maybe we should try to talk to Alex again. Maybe see about salting and burning the bones." Dean suggested. Just as they got up to check, Alex opened the door.

"Hey." she said quietly. He face was still tear-stained, clearly she had done nothing to try to cover it up. She was wearing cut-off jean shorts again and a navy blue Team USA tee shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"Hey." Sam said. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright. What are you guys up to?" she said and forced a small smile at them.

"Not much. Where's your mom?" Dean asked.

"She left for work. Weird hours. Six pm to two am. Eight am to eleven am. I never understood why she chose those hours. Really strange. Anyways..." she trailed off.

"Do you know where your friends got buried?" Dean asked. Sam stomped on Dean's foot.

"Uh yeah. The only cemetery in town. Why?" Alex said.

"Well if you think there's a spirit haunting you, you might want to check out the graves." Dean said.

"Right." Alex said. "Actually now that you mention it, I never did pay my respects. I didn't go to the funeral. Large groups of people aren't my thing. Especially crying people." Alex said, cringing slightly. Sam and Dean smiled. A real smile flicked across Alex's face.

"We can take you." Dean offered. Alex hesitated. Two young men she had just met yesterday offering her a ride. Parents always warned kids about this. Then she remembered how angry she was with her mom.

"Yeah okay." Alex said with a shrug. They all headed out towards the car. Alex grabbed a muffin off the counter and slipped her gray Converse on. Dean unlocked the black car.

"Cool car." Alex said.

"Thanks." Dean said with a smile at the girl. Alex slid into the backseat while Sam and Dean sat up front.

"So where is it?" Sam asked.

"Go right out of the driveway. Continue all the way down until you see the church. Cemetery's round back." Alex said. Dean started the car and his music began blaring loudly. Alex smiled at the loud music. Dean saw her in the rear-view mirror.

"See Sammy, someone appreciates my music." Dean said. Sam shook his head and turned around to shake his head at Alex. The girl chuckled at the face he made. They all drove in silence. Dean was humming along to the music. Sam and Alex stared out the windows watching the scenery pass by. The church approached quickly. Dean parked in front. Alex hopped out and led the way to the cemetery at the back. It was fairly small, considering the size of some of the ones the Winchesters had had to search through. She led the way to a tall tree. At its base, were two new gravestones. Lots of flowers were scattered around them.

"Abigail Christine Jones and Alice Jane Johnson. Age 14. Two thirds of the Triple A Trio." Alex read quietly. "When I heard Abby was dead, I wasn't even that sad. She and I had gotten into a huge fight." Sam and Dean exchanged glances. That could contribute to an angry spirit.

"What was it about?" Sam asked.

"She was being a real jerk to this other girl I knew, kind of close to a friend. Abby was always saying mean things about her behind her back and just being really annoying. Friday, we all went out to the park together and I lost it. She kept complaining to us about how the other girl always talked about her behind her back. I told her she was doing the exact same thing and being really bitchy. Long story short, both of us stormed off and didn't even speak again before she died. Only texted." Alex explained.

"I'm sorry." Sam said.

"No it's okay. It needed to be done. And I'm not sorry I said everything I said." Alex replied, her chin held high.

"We can leave you alone for a minute if you'd like." Dean offered.

"If you don't mind." Alex said. Sam and Dean walked back towards the church.

"Looks like we've got a bit more reason for a vengeful spirit." Dean said with a glance back towards Alex.

"Looks like it. Come back tonight and salt and burn the bones?" Sam replied.

"Yep." Dean said. Alex came walking back towards them. "That was quick."

"Didn't have a lot to say." Alex said with a shrug. Suddenly, her phone began ringing. With a sigh, she pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Sam and Dean, terrified.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked. Alex showed them the screen. The caller ID read 'Abby Jones.'

"Is that?" Sam asked. Alex nodded numbly. She flipped the phone open and put it on speakerphone.

"Hello?" she said hesitantly.

"Hey Alex." An overly cheery female voice said. "How are you?"

"I've been better." Alex said stiffly.

"That's a shame. I can't say I'm going to make your day much better but I can show you something that might make you smile."

"What?" Alex said cautiously.

"Oh you'll have to come home and see. Meet me in front of your house. Your mom will be joining us." The voice said. The phone clicked signaling the end of the call.

"Oh crap." Alex said quietly. "We need to go. Now." The three of them looked at each other before racing back to the Impala. They all jumped in, and Dean was already turning around and racing down the road before all the doors were closed. He stopped in front of Alex's house and they all scrambled out of the car, looking around.

"Do you see her?" Dean asked.

"No." Alex said. She took stepped around the back of the Impala and looked down the road to the left. Her mom's car came around the curve. Another girl with brown hair appeared on the side of the rode. She smirked at Alex before stepping to cross the street. Alex ran at the girl. Her mom slammed on the brakes and swerved. Alex tried to stop and double back, but the car was to fast. The corner hit her and sent her flying back towards Sam and Dean. The car hit one of the trees by the side of the house. Dean ran to the car while Sam ran to Alex.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he helped her up. Alex nodded. She was shaking badly and her arms were covered in scrapes but other than that she appeared unhurt.

"Nothing's broken?" Sam asked.

"I don't think so." Alex said, her voice shaking. She began taking shaky steps towards Dean and her mother's car. Dean pulled his head out of the window and shook his head. Alex began running. Dean caught her before she reached the car.

"Hey hey. I'd stay back. Lots of broken glass." he said, stepping to block her view.

"That's my mom." Alex said, tears in her eyes. Dean looked over at Sam who shrugged. Dean stepped out of the way. Alex took the last couple steps to the side of the car. The front windshield was entirely broken out. Her mother's body was limp and bloody in the front seat. Alex put her hands on where the window had been and cut them on the remaining shards of glass. She winced and pulled them off. She reached in and put her hand on her mother's neck. Her mother's pulse was nonexistent. Alex pulled her hand away and turned to look at Sam and Dean.

"She's dead." Alex said quietly. She began walking back towards them slowly.

"Alex I'm so sorry." Sam said and put his hand on her shoulder. Alex turned flaming eyes on him.

"Leave me alone." she snarled and pushed past him before breaking into a run.

"Alex come back!" Dean said and moved to go after her.

"Leave her." Sam said. "She'll be back. If she doesn't come, I know where she might be."

"You sure?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. I'm positive. We might want to call the cops and get this taken care of." Sam said. He pulled out his cell and dialed the police. Once they arrived, Sam and Dean spent the next two hours talking to officers and giving statements.

"She's still not back." Dean said impatiently.

"Wait. If it gets dark and she still hasn't come home, then we can go find her." Sam said. They went back inside, ate lunch, and tried to find ways to pass the time. Slowly the clock ticked to six. The two ate dinner in silence. Sam returned to his computer and Dean read through their dad's journal. The clock struck nine and still Alex had not returned.

"Now can we go find her?" Dean asked. The sun was starting disappear and a few stars were visible.

"Fine. Let's go. On foot, just in case she's walking back." Sam said. He led the way out of the house and down the left road.

"You do know where you're going right?" Dean asked.

"No not at all." Sam said sarcastically.

"Bitch."

"Jerk." The two smiled slightly at each other. They rounded a turn in the road. A small park was on the left. A lone girl sat on one of the swings.

"How'd you know she'd be here?" Dean asked.

"We passed it on the way down to her house. It just looked like a place someone could go to be alone." Sam said, hearing how weak his logic sounded out loud. They approached Alex, who didn't notice them until they were standing over her. She had headphones in once again.

"Alex?" Sam asked. The girl raised her head. Her face was more tear-stained than before. Her injuries still hadn't been cleaned. She pulled one of the headphones out.

"The last thing I said to my mom was that I hated her and wished she was dead." she said quietly.

"It's getting late. You should probably come home." Sam said and offered his hand. She looked up at him and took it cautiously. She pulled the other headphone out and jammed it into her pocket. They all began walking back in silence. The stars were becoming more numerous and obvious the later it got. They reached Alex's house soon, and she flopped down on the living room couch.

"Can I clean up your injuries?" Sam asked.

"Sure." Alex said. "There are band-aids and other stuff in the hall closet. Fourth shelf I think." she told him. He got up to rummage for them. Dean approached him with a container of salt.

"I'm gonna go burn those bitches. You stay here with Alex. Make sure nothing bad happens." Dean told Sam. Sam nodded and continued to search the cupboard. Dean headed down the hall and out the front door.

"I'll be back in a couple minutes. Just got some stuff to do." he called to Alex.

"Okay." she said, her eyes not leaving the television screen. Sam came back and sat down on the couch next to her.

"What are you watching?" he asked.

"Psych. Guy who's hyper-observant pretends to be a psychic and works for the cops with his best friend." Alex said. Sam began cleaning the cuts and putting bandages on them. Once he was done, she paused the episode. She stood up and headed out the back without a word. Sam got up and followed curious.

"Where are you going? It might not be safe out here." Sam said.

"So what?" Alex said. She led the way to the fort. It was exactly as she had left it yesterday. She opened up the doorway pulled a blanket out from against the wall.

"This really is quite impressive." he said.

"Thanks. I built it myself." Alex said with a proud smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah. The old neighbors' sons tried to build a fort but did a crappy job. I tore it down and rebuilt it with the wood." Alex explained. "Sometimes at night I sneak out here." she said as she spread the blanket out on the ground. Then she laid down and sighed contentedly. "It's not quite as exhilarating as riding, but it's amazing." Sam laid down next to her.

"It's beautiful." he said, staring up at the starry sky.

"I know. We lived in the city until I was ten. When we moved out here, I was amazed. All the stars you can see. It's just... magnificent." Alex said with a smile. "And to sleep under the stars who could ask for more. With the moon keeping watch over me. On My Way by Phil Collins."

"What's with you and music?" Sam asked.

"Music is my escape. I can just tune the real world out and create my own realities. Or just let the songs carry all the worry and trouble away."

"Nice." Sam said.

"Yeah. It is." Alex said quietly. The two laid together in silence under the glittering stars, waiting for Dean to return.


	4. Gone Forever

"Sammy! Sam!" Dean was shouting. Alex opened her eyes and sat up slowly, trying to figure out where she was.

'Crap we must have fallen asleep.' she realized suddenly. She looked around. Yes, she and Sam were still out on the blanket. Sam was laying next to her, sound asleep. "Sam wake up." she said, shaking him awake roughly.

"What?" he mumbled.

"We fell asleep and Dean's back."

"Crap." Sam said and jolted upright. "We're out here Dean." he called. Dean shone a flashlight at them and came running up. They were both squinting into the flashlight's beam.

"Are you trying to scare me to death?" he asked. "What are you doing out here?"

"We were looking for constellations and must have fallen asleep." Alex said, still a bit groggy herself.

"Okay..." Dean said, still not 100% satisfied with the answer. "Alex, you don't have to worry about Abby's spirit anymore. It's taken care of."

"Thanks." Alex said hesitantly. "We should probably go back inside. There may not be vengeful spirits but there could be coyotes or cougars." She and Sam stood up together to see eye to eye with Dean, or in Alex's case eye to shoulders.

"Seriously?" Sam asked.

"Sure. I've seen 'em both before." Alex said. The Winchesters looked at each other, a bit scared and surprised.

"And you sleep outside even when you know the're out there?" Dean asked.

"Sure. They never approach people. They're more afraid of us than we are of them." Alex said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She gathered up the blanket and led the way back to the house. She opened the back door, tossed the blanket onto the couch, and headed straight to her room.

"See you guys in the morning." she called to the Winchesters before shutting her door and flopping onto her own bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The Winchesters followed her inside and shut the door behind them. The clock on the wall's hands showed the time to be 1:24. Sam shook his head, still trying to wake up. They headed into the room they were sharing and laid down on their beds.

"What were you guys doing out there Sammy?" Dean asked.

"Just talking and looking at the stars." Sam said and closed his eyes.

"Talking about what?" Dean asked.

"Just talking Dean." Sam said, his eyes still closed.

"Alright." Dean said, again not satisfied with the answer.

In the morning, they awoke to the smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen. They both got out of bed quickly and headed towards the tantalizing smell. Alex was in the kitchen standing over the stove. 'Gives You Hell' by All American Rejects was playing from the speakers sitting on the counter.

"You're making bacon." Dean said with a grin as he walked in.

"Yep. Thought I'd make a nice breakfast for your last day here." Alex said as she turned around from the stove. She paused the music before pulling a pan of eggs off the burner and setting it on the dining table.

"What makes you say it's our last day here?" Sam asked.

"I'm not an idiot Sam. You guys were only here to deal with the spirit. That's what Dean did last night. It's not that hard to piece together." Alex said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh." was all either of the Winchesters could say. No one had ever picked up on them that easily.

"Anyways, eat. I made a lot." Alex said. She set a plate loaded with bacon on the table next to the pan of eggs, a tray of cinnamon rolls, and a pitcher of orange juice.

"Wow." Dean said as he sat down. He picked up one of empty plates and began loading it up with food. Sam did the same, a little more slowly. Alex sat down across from the brothers and took almost as much food as Dean.

"What are you going to do now?" Sam asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Alex said.

"Do you have any relatives you could stay with?" Sam asked.

"Nope. No living grandparents, my dad was an only child, and my mom has a sister who I've never met or seen any pictures of." Alex said with a sight.

"Social services?" Dean suggested.

"No way" Alex said with a shake of her head. "Not happening." Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

"What do you know about weapons?" Sam asked. Dean gave him a warning look.

"Weapons? A fair amount I suppose. I can use a sword, bow, crossbow, and a gun, rifle or handgun." Alex listed. "Don't get me wrong, I'm no expert marksman, but I can hit a target."

"Really?" Sam asked. Both brothers were surprised.

"Yeah. My dream was to do the modern pentathlon. It has epee fencing, swimming, shooting, long distance running, and show jumping on horseback. The archery was just extra."

"That's cool." Sam said.

"Yeah, I always thought so. Plus I just thought weapons training was fun. I can also throw a mean punch." Alex said proudly. Sam and Dean exchanged glances again.

"You guys keep looking at each like you're reading each others minds. Can I ask why?" Alex said.

"Please excuse us. We need to have a conversation in private." Sam said and grabbed Dean's arm. He dragged him into the room they were sharing.

"No way Sammy." Dean said as soon as the door was shut.

"I haven't said anything yet." Sam said defensively.

"You were going to say we should take her with us." Dean said.

"Why not? She's smart, observant, and clearly knows how to hold her own in a fight." Sam exclaimed.

"We need to find Dad. We can't be distracted by trying to take care of a fourteen year old girl." Dean said.

"I doubt she needs much looking after. Besides, if it doesn't work out, we could just leave her with one of the people we save." Sam said, hoping for at least a chance. "She's got nothing left here. She'd just end up all alone in some foster home." Dean sighed. Sam was determined and wasn't going to back down.

"Alright fine. We can take her on one hunt. If she does okay, fine she can stay. If something goes wrong because we have to worry about her, we drop her." Dean said resignedly.

"Good." Sam said. He opened the door and headed back to the kitchen. Dean followed a little more slowly. "Hey Alex?" Sam asked.

"Yes?" Alex asked. She was tilting her chair back, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Would you like to come with us?" Sam asked.

"Come where?" Alex said, trying to appear calm, but there was a spark in her eye.

"All over." Dean said. "We go all over the country. Hunting things like your friend. Evil spirits, demons, that sort of stuff."

"Is it dangerous?" Alex asked.

"Usually." Sam said.

"I'd love to." Alex said, a broad grin covering her face.

"Pack a bag. We'll leave in an hour." Dean said.

"What about your horses?" Sam asked. Alex's face fell a bit.

"I'll just leave a note for the neighbors. They'll be back tomorrow." Alex said, a bit sadly. She turned and headed into her room to pack. "Oh and I'm fifteen Dean. Not fourteen." she called out the door. Sam smirked at Dean. Dean rolled his eyes before heading into their room. Meanwhile, Alex pulled a heavy black duffel bag from her closet and set it on the bed. She turned around and surveyed the room. So many things that she valued but so little space. Necessities first she decided. She opened the closet again. Looking over it quickly, she grabbed three pairs of jeans and two pairs of shorts and tossed them into the bag. Returning to the closet, she picked up four of her favorite tee shirts and two long sleeves.

"What else could I need?" she asked herself out loud. She returned to the closet one last time and chose a few extra pairs of socks and two sweatshirts. Then she grabbed an old oversized shirt and a pair of sweatpants and shut the door.

"Bring a heavy jacket. You'll need it." Dean said from the doorway. Alex turned to look at him.

"Oh thanks." Alex said. She opened the closet again and chose an old blue jacket.

"Looks a little big for you." Dean commented.

"It was my dad's. He used to wear it when he went hunting. Game hunting. Not spirit." Alex said as she stuffed it into the bag. "Thanks for taking me. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't offered.

"It's no problem. Just know that it is dangerous and not everyone always walks away from our jobs."

"I understand. I can hold my own. And I'm not afraid." She shut the closet and moved to her bookshelf. It wasn't going to be a vacation, but she never went anywhere without a supply of books. She chose five of her favorites and shoved them into the black bag. Reaching behind the row of books, she pulled out a large Swiss Army Knife.

"That will come in handy." Dean said.

"I usually don't even go outside without it. I've been careless these last few days." Alex said and pocketed the blade.

"Only bring what you need. You don't want a lot of extra weight to carry around." Dean cautioned. "I've got to pack my stuff."

"Go ahead. I'll be out when I'm done." she said with a small smile at him. He returned it before heading back to his room. Alex returned to her packing. She picked up the paper with her poems and two slightly used notebooks. She slipped a couple pencils in then pocketed her phone and slid the iPod into the bag. "Laptop. Can't forget the laptop." she muttered to herself. She squished it into the bag along with the chargers for all the electronics. Last she slipped a photo album on top.

"How long 'til we leave?" she called to the Winchesters.

"Forty minutes." Dean called back. Alex nodded, though she knew they couldn't see it. She shut the door to the bedroom and opened the closet again. She pulled her guitar out from the corner and began playing her favorite song, the last time she ever would ever play on its copper strings. It was a long song, but she took her time, enjoying the calming sound.

"Are you playing guitar?" Sam asked as he stepped into the room.

"Well come on in." Alex said sarcastically. "Yeah I'm playing."

"You play guitar, you're amazing at sports, and you're smart. Is there anything you aren't good at?" Sam asked, half joking half serious.

"I'm horrible at singing and dancing, I can't draw a good picture to save my life, and I'm flat out terrible at golf. And according to my 'friends' I'm heartless and emotionless. Though I don't consider those last things to be problems. Oh and my handwriting sucks. It could probably match a third grader's." Alex said with a smirk. Sam smiled back.

"Heartless huh? That's pretty harsh."

"I was always proud of that. I could always make the tough decisions. The ones that could hurt others. Humans really aren't my forte." Alex replied. Sam stared at her for a second before replying.

"Keep playing. That was really good. What song is it?"

"It's called 'Where Horses of Faery Hide.' It's Celtic. My dad listened to it a lot. 'Embracing our heritage' he called it." Alex said. She resumed playing the song, closing her eyes and playing from memory. When she finished she looked up at Sam.

"I haven't quite perfected it yet. Guess I never will." a sad look crossing her face. She shrugged, leaned the guitar up against the wall, and picked up a football and a baseball cap from the floor.

"You're a Red Sox fan?" Sam asked when he saw the hat.

"Yep. And Mets. And Mariners and Dodgers. Oregon doesn't have a team so my neighbor back in Portland told me all the teams he liked." Alex said as she set the two items in the duffel bag. "I think I'm set." said and slung the bag onto her shoulder. She swiped a wallet off the nightstand. Sam turned and headed back to his room and poked his head in. Alex followed behind him.

"Do you have any money?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Almost three hundred dollars." Alex said.

"I'll be ready in a second." Dean said when he saw them in the doorway. He was leaning over the bed, trying to get all the guns back together and packed. Sam and Alex headed out to the Impala and put their bags in the trunk.

"I'll be back in a minute." Alex said and headed to the barn. Sam nodded and headed back inside to help Dean.

"She really is taking her parents' deaths pretty well." Sam commented when he got into the room.

"Yeah so?" Dean asked, still struggling with the guns.

"Most teenage girls would be broken right now. She looks like she's more upset about leaving her horse than losing her parents." Sam said.

"I'll give you that one. But you saw how well she got along with her mom. And she said that she wasn't close to her dad. Some people just don't get close to others. She seems like one of 'em." Dean shrugged the worries off. He finally got all the guns sorted and into his bag. "Now. Where to?"

"East, I don't know. You're the one who's always reading Dad's journal."

"I don't know. Let's try south. Maybe something in Cali." Dean suggested.

"Alright." Sam said as they walked out of the house and locked the door. "Alex is in the barn. I'll go get her." Dean nodded and got into the driver's seat of the Impala. Sam opened the door to the barn. Alex was stroking the two horses. He stayed quiet and looked around. A picture of a little boy standing next to a pony hung on the wall. The picture next to it showed a little girl with the same pony. Next to those two was a picture of an older boy on Outlaw.

"Hey Sam." Alex said without looking away from the horse.

"Hey. It's time to go." Sam said.

"Okay." Alex said with a sight. She stroked the gray horse one last time and kissed his nose before following Sam out of the barn.

"Who were the kids in the pictures on the wall?" Sam asked.

"My cousins. Thomas is the older one, Ian's the little boy, and Zoe's the little girl."

"I thought you didn't know your family."

"I don't know my aunt. She sent my cousins up here last summer. Something about getting them away from the city."

"Huh." Sam said. He could tell that Alex was lying but didn't press the issue further. Sam swung into the passenger seat of the Impala and Alex slid into the backseat for the second time.

"Ready to go?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. I'm ready." Alex said with a last glance at the barn to make sure the note was still there. "I'm ready."


	5. Home

**(A/N) Longer chapter here. I'm probably going to split the episode into two or three pieces, depending. These chapters are probably going to take me a little longer to post than the first few because I'm trying to stick to the episode.**

* * *

The threesome drove for what seemed like forever to Alex but was only about an hour. Dean was singing along to AC/DC, not something Alex minded at all. Sam had his nose buried in their father's journal. Alex sat awkwardly in the backseat, unsure of what to do for the first hour other than contemplate all that had occurred over the past few days. They pulled into a gas station to fill up and for Dean to get some food. When he came back, Alex was opening the trunk and hefting her duffel bag out.

"Are you going somewhere?" Dean asked.

"No. I'm bored out of my mind. I'm getting some books out of my bag." Alex said with a shake of her head. She closed the trunk and returned to her place in the backseat. Dean nodded and slid back into the driver's seat. "So, where are we going exactly?" she asked.

"Southeast." Dean said.

"I can see that. Anywhere in particular?" Alex said, prodding for more information.

"Not really." Dean admitted.

"So we're just driving along?"

"I might have something." Sam said.

"What?" Alex and Dean asked simultaneously.

"It's in Nebraska. Not too much but Dad has the town circled in the journal." Sam elaborated.

"Sounds good enough for me." Dean said. He began heading east as fast as possible. Alex shrugged and pulled out one of her books. Six hours later she stuck a bookmark in and closed it.

"Where are we now?" Alex asked as she looked up.

"Hammet, Idaho. We're still about twelve hours away from where we need to be." Dean said. Alex heaved a sigh.

"How much longer are we going to be driving?"

"Today? It's only 3:00. We'll go for about three or four more hours then we'll get a motel." Dean explained.

"Alright." Alex said with another sigh. She reopened the book and got lost in the world of David, Lucy, and clay dragons. She finished it as Dean was pulling into a parking lot.

"Okay, now where are we? And what time is it?" Alex asked, squinting as she looked around, her eyes adjusting from tiny book print to the wide world outside.

"Ogden, Utah. And it is 8:00." Dean said.

"I thought we were going east." Alex said.

"This is the fastest way." Dean told her.

"Alright. Where'd Sam go?"

"He's checking us in." At that moment Sam stepped out of the motel's office and back to the car.

"I could only get one room. With two beds." he apologized.

"No worries Sammy." Dean said. Alex would have disagreed but said nothing out loud. Dean and Alex got out of the car, they all grabbed their bags from the trunk. Sam led the way to the room and unlocked it. It was simple, two beds, a couch, a table and chairs, a TV, and a kitchenette. Dean tossed his bag onto the bed closest to them. Sam looked over at Alex.

"Why don't you take the other bed." Sam offered.

"No I'm fine. I'll take the couch." Alex said with a shrug.

"What? No. I'll take the couch." Sam said.

"Sam, it's fine. I don't mind. I sleep on the hard ground sometimes. This couch is a step up." Alex said with a smile.

"You two could sleep together." Dean said from his bed. Alex and Sam looked at him like he was insane. "Not like that! I just meant, you know, share the bed. It's a queen. You won't even have to touch each other." Alex and Sam looked at each other.

"I guess that works." Alex said.

"I'm fine with it if you are." Sam said. Alex nodded and they both set their bags on the bed. "The Fire Within." Sam said, reading the cover of her book.

"Yep. It's my favorite series. Well one of them." Alex said with a grin.

"It's about dragons?" Sam questioned.

"Yep. Sort of. Clay dragons that are actually real." Sam gave her a strange look. "It's a lot better than I'm making it sound."

"Okay." he said with a chuckle. Alex slid her bag to the ground and sat on the far side of the bed. She picked up the book again.

"Didn't you finish it?" Dean asked.

"Epilogue." Alex told him without looking up. Sam smiled at her.

"I'm gonna go get ready for bed." he said. Neither of the others made any sign that they had heard him. He shrugged, grabbed his bag from the bed, and headed into the bathroom. He came back out five minutes later in his pajamas. Alex was shutting her book.

"Finish it?" he asked as he sat down on the bed.

"Yep." Alex said. Her face was a mixture of confusion and satisfaction.

"Happy ending?"

"Cliffhanger. I'm gonna get ready now, if you don't mind."

"Feel free." Sam said. Alex set the book down on the bed and took her turn in the bathroom. She changed into the oversized Oregon Ducks tee shirt and sweatpants and came back out. Dean looked like he hadn't moved. He was laying on his bed reading their dad's journal. She slipped under the covers and pulled out her laptop.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked.

"I'm gonna do some research. Where are we going again?"

"Scottsbluff, Nebraska." Sam said. He pulled out his own laptop to do his own research. "Hey Dean? Do you know what we might be hunting here?"

"Dad didn't say anything. Could be demons, shifters, spirits, anything."

"That's helpful." Sam snorted. They all continued their research until midnight.

"Oh my God it's late. Alex you should get some sleep." Sam said when he noticed the time.

"I'm not a little kid. Nor am I tired." Alex said as she stifled a yawn. "Besides, I can't sleep with all the lights on." Dean rolled his eyes but consented.

"Neither of us need sleep." Dean said.

"Dean your driving is crazy at its best. I'd hate to see it when you're exhausted." Alex said. Sam bit back a laugh. Dean rolled his eyes but gave no response. He flicked off the lamp by his bedside and Sam did the same. "'Night Sam." Alex said quietly.

"Goodnight Alex." Sam whispered. The three all fell asleep quickly. Though they had a large bed, Alex and Sam slept with their backs pressed together. A couple hours later Sam jolted awake and sat up in bed. Alex was woken up by his sudden movement.

"Sam?" she mumbled sleepily. She sat up and saw the look of fear on his face. "Sam are you okay?" she asked him worriedly as she sat up.

"What?" Sam asked. "Yeah I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

"Okay." Alex mumbled, to tired to argue.

Alex woke up the next morning. The brothers were already awake. Sam was sitting up next to her, doodling a tree on a notepad. Dean was sitting at the table on the computer.

"Morning sunshine." Dean said when he turned to talk to Sam and saw her eyes open. Alex groaned.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"8 am." Dean told her.

"Already?" Alex asked. Dean just nodded. "Nice drawing Sam." she said glancing at the notepad.

"Oh thanks." Sam said. Alex grabbed her bag and headed into the bathroom to change. She put on a black tee shirt with a wolf on it and her dad's blue jacket. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail again and pulled on her only slightly ripped jeans.

"Ripped jeans?" Dean asked as she stepped out again.

"All my jeans are ripped. You'd be amazed at how easily I can tear them." Alex said as she sat down on Dean's bed.

"Hey woah. My bed." Dean said.

"Chill out." Alex said with a roll of her eyes. "There anything for breakfast?" Dean tossed her an apple. Alex gave it a look of distaste but bit into it anyway. Dean returned to the computer screen. "What are you researching?"

"Just seeing if I can find anything for the hunt." Dean said.

"Wait. I've seen this." Sam said suddenly. Alex and Dean both turned to look at him.

"Seen what?" Dean asked. Sam got up and pulled out their dad's journal. He pulled out a picture from inside the cover. He held his drawing up next to the picture and studied the comparison.

"Guys I know where we need to go next." Sam said.

"Where?" Alex asked.

"Back home. Back to Kansas."

"Okay random. Where did that come from?" Dean asked. Alex cocked her head at Sam.

_Kansas. They're from Kansas._ Alex thought, mentally storing the information. Other than the fact that they hunted the supernatural, she knew next to nothing about them.

"This photo was taken in front of our old house right? The house where Mom died?" Sam said and set the photograph on the table. Alex got off the bed and took an open seat at the table. The picture was of a family. A mom, a dad, a young boy, and a baby. It wasn't hard for Alex to piece together who was who.

"Yeah..." Dean said hesitantly.

"And it didn't burn down right? Not completely? They rebuilt it right?" Sam continued.

_And their house burned down._ Alex thought, continuing to store these new facts.

"Uh yeah. I guess so yeah. What the hell are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"Look, this is gonna sound crazy but the people who live in our old house, I think they might be in danger." Sam said as he sat down in the remaining seat.

"What makes you say that?" Alex asked.

"I just...um...just trust me on this." Sam said as he got up again and began packing his bag.

"Woah woah. Just trust you?" Dean asked as he too stood up. "Come on man. That's just weak. You gotta give me a little more than that.

"I can't really explain it is all." Sam said, continuing to pack. Alex was the last to stand up. She leaned against the wall.

"Is this about what happened last night?" Alex asked.

"What happened last night?" Dean asked her.

"Sam woke up in the middle of the night. He looked really scared and shaken up." Alex said.

"What made you wake up?" Dean asked.

"I have these nightmares." Sam said.

"I've noticed." Dean said.

_So these are fairly common. _Alex thought.

"And sometimes they come true."

"You dream about things before they happen?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. I dreamed about Jessica's death for days before it happened." Sam explained.

"Who's Jessica?" Alex asked.

"She was my girlfriend." Sam said.

_Sam had a girlfriend who died. That explains some of this. _Alex was glad that she was getting a bit of the brothers' history.

"Oh I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Sam said. Dean was starting to look nervous and confused.

"People have weird dreams man, I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Dean said and sat down on his bed.

"No, I dreamed about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling the fire, everything. I didn't do anything because I didn't believe it." Alex was confused by the this. Her on the ceiling? What was that all about?

"And now I'm dreaming about that tree and about our house and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that's where it all started. It's got to mean something right?" Sam continued. Dean was looking flat out worried now.

"I don't know." was all Dean could say.

"What do you mean you don't know Dean?" Sam asked. "This woman might be in danger. I mean this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica." Sam exclaimed. He sat down on the bed across from Dean.

"Just slow down would you?" Dean said, standing up again. There were tears in his eyes, and he had moved from worried to terrified. "First you tell me that you've got the Shining and then you tell me that I've got to go back home. Especially when." Dean started but couldn't finish.

"When what?" Sam asked, his big eyes staring up at his older brother.

"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there." Dean turned around to hide his face, but Alex could see the tears in his eyes. Sam stood up again.

"Look Dean we have to check this out." Sam said gently. Alex was amazed by Sam's ability to be so gentle, even to his brother. "Just to make sure." Sam added.

"Sam's right. We should at least look into it. It's farther than our original plans, but it could be important." Alex spoke up. She didn't know much about what had happened to them, but it obviously wasn't good. And whatever this case ended up being could also be very bad. But seeing the sad look in Sam's eyes caused Alex to cave in. Dean looked between the two of them and nodded slowly.

"I know we do." he said. Without another word, the threesome packed up their things and left. Alex pulled another book out of her bag.

"How long will it take?" she asked before she opened the book.

"I can get us there in ten hours." Dean said. Alex could tell that Dean was either underestimating or planning on driving well over the speed limit. She favored the latter possibility.

"Alright." she said and opened the book. Dean began blasting his music, a group Alex had never heard before. Sam rolled his eyes, and Alex was already plunging back into her fantasy book world. They made a stop for lunch and gas after about five hours.

"Halfway there." Dean said when they were stopped.

"You know it should take fourteen hours to get from where ever we were to Lawrence." Alex told him.

"Yes, if you aren't in a hurry. If you are, you can get there in ten." Dean told her. Alex rolled her eyes but figured it was a valid point. Lives were on the line. They finished filling up and piled back into the car.

"Okay. I want some history here." Alex said. "I barely know you guys, and here we are getting into one of the most personal hunts you could possibly get into. What's your real story?" Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

"We have to tell her Dean. She's with us now."

"Go ahead and tell her then." Dean said, without taking his eyes off the road. Sam shrugged and turned around to face Alex. He told her about the fire that killed their mother, their dad training them to hunt, him leaving for Stanford, his girlfriend dying like their mom, and going off with Dean to hunt the thing.

"Wow." Alex said when he was finished. "That's quite the history."

"What about all of yours? We never did hear all of it." Sam asked.

"It's much less interesting. Besides, it's not important." Alex said, hoping to get out of it.

"I think it's important." Sam said. Alex smiled at him, it was hard not to when he stared at her with those puppy dog eyes.

"Thanks, but I'd really rather not tell it. Not now. Maybe later." Alex said and reopened her book. Sam sighed but returned his gaze to the road ahead.

Dean had been right. About five hours after pulling out of the gas station they passed the sign for Lawrence. They drove through the town and eventually pulled up in front of a two story house on a neighborhood road. An old tree, gnarled and looking half dead, was in the front yard.

"You gonna be okay man?" Sam asked.

"Let me get back to you on that." Dean said. They got out of the car and strolled up the front walk.

"We have a cover story?" Alex asked. Sam and Dean stared at her. "What? Seems like you guys have a thing for not telling the real story." Alex said with a roll of her eyes.

"You roll your eyes at us a lot." Dean said.

"You earn it a lot." Alex said. Dean glared, but Alex gave him a smug smile.

Still not having answered the cover story question, Dean knocked on the door.

"Yes?" asked the woman who opened the door. She was young, probably not much older than Sam and Dean.

"Sorry to bother you ma'am, but we're with the federal-" Dean began.

"I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother Dean and our little sister Alex." Sam introduced them. Alex was taken aback when Sam called her their sister. "We used to live here." Sam added. "We were just driving by, and we were wondering if we could see the old place."

"Winchester?" the woman said to herself. "Yeah that's so funny. I think I found some of your photos the other night."

"You did?" Dean asked and exchanged glances with the other two. Alex shrugged. She looked around, wondering what it must be like for Dean, coming back to the home his mother died in.

"Come on in." the woman said and opened the door wider. Sam and Dean stepped inside, followed closely by Alex. She led the way to the kitchen. On the way, there were halfway unpacked boxes scattered around the hall. In the kitchen, a young girl, probably around seven or eight sat at the table, and a little boy was jumping in a playpen. "The little guy's Richie. He's kind of a juice junkie. But at least he won't get scurvy." she told them as she handed him a juice bottle. The three smiled at the little boy.

"What's the matter, scared of a little kid?" Dean whispered to Alex when he saw her face.

"I'm not a people person, and I've never really been around little kids." Alex whispered back.

"Sari, this is Sam, Dean, and Alex. They used to live here." the woman told the girl sitting at the table.

"Hi." Sari said quietly.

"Hi." Alex said with a real smile at the girl.

"Hey Sari." Sam said.

"So you just moved in?" Dean asked.

"Yeah from Wichita."

"Can you investigate the house?" Dean whispered to Alex.

"What?" Alex asked incredulously.

"Ask to use the bathroom. Then use this-" Dean said as he slipped the EMF reader into her pocket. "To check for spirits. If the lights light up or it starts beeping, that means there's something here." Alex nodded.

"Um would you mind if I used your restroom?" she asked shyly.

"Oh sure. You know where it is?" the woman asked.

"Uh no. They moved before I was born." Alex said.

"Right. It's at the right end of the hall we came down."

"Thanks." Alex said. She turned and gave Dean a quick glare before heading down the hall. Pulling the EMF reader out of her pocket, she crept up the stairs quietly. She figured out how to work the strange object and walked in and out of the upstairs rooms before heading back downstairs. Nothing unusual had come up. She turned into the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and turned on the sink, acting as though she had used it. Then she returned to the others.

"Nothing." she whispered to Dean as she slid the EMF reader into his jacket pocket. It was a bit harder for her to do it subtly because his pockets were above her hanging hand. She moved slightly behind him and slid it in.

"Are you sure?" Dean asked.

"Nothing came up. There could have been something that I didn't get though." Alex replied. "Thank you." Alex said, raising her voice back to a normal volume.

"Oh no problem." the woman said. She was kneeling next to Sari. "There's nothing in there of course."

"Right of course." Sam said. Alex shot him a questioning look. He mouthed 'One second' to her. She sighed and nodded.

"Well thank you for your time." Dean said and they turned to leave. As soon as the front door shut, the talking began.

"What was in the closet?" Alex asked immediately.

"A figure in flames." Sam said. "And all the things Jenny was talking about. Flickering lights, plumbing problems, scratching, all signs of a malevolent spirit."

"I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are coming true."

"Do you think it could be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?" Sam asked.

"I don't know."

"Has it come back or has it been there the whole time? Or it could be something entirely different."

"I don't know Sam!" Dean said.

"If it's the same thing, I'd guess it left and then came back. It could be something entirely different though." Alex said.

"What?" Dean said.

"You heard me. It might be something totally different. Different spirit, different creature altogether." Alex said. "I favor the possibility that it's totally different."

"Whatever it is, those people are in danger." Sam said. "We have to get them out of that house."

"We will." Dean said.

"No. I mean now." Sam said.

"And how are you gonna do that?" Dean asked.

"Dean's got a point Sam. It'll probably come attack at night right? Maybe we should go and see what there is to find in town." Alex said.

"Alright fine." Sam said. The three got into the Impala and headed into town to find a motel and another gas station.


	6. Revelation

**Sorry this took so long. I was not allowed to get on my computer for a week. Then I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to do with this chapter**

* * *

"We just need to chill out." Dean told Sam. Sam didn't look happy with this but said nothing. "Now, I'm gonna go to the bathroom.

"I know this is probably hard, but I still don't quite understand what happened to your mom and your girlfriend. Could you explain that?" Alex asked as they leaned on the side of the car.

"Probably not too well. I was just a baby when my mom died. Jess, I don't know. We don't really know what it was. All we know is that it pinned them to the ceiling, trapping them." Sam's voice was sounding a bit choked.

"Thanks for explaining it. I know it's probably hard."

"Harder than you talking about your parents?" Sam asked.

"Probably much harder. I'll talk about my parents if you want me to. I just don't like wasting my breath on them." Alex shrugged.

"You're awfully harsh on them." Sam said.

"Sam I don't like talking about them. I didn't really like them and they're gone now. Screw 'don't speak ill of the dead.' They were kind of jerks and I'm much better off than dead like them. I always wanted the extraordinary, not some mundane future. If you hadn't come, I would've been stuck living a normal life. Grow up, go to college, get married, get a job, raise a family, and all that crap. This is so much better than that could ever have been. Example: I've been playing soccer since I was three. I loved it a lot. But now, after spending so much time on it, it kind of bores me. That's twelve years later. I can't imagine doing the exact same thing everyday for the rest of my life." Alex took a breath. "So yeah. Sorry for that bit. Anyways."

"Sorry I brought it up." Sam said with a smirk. Alex grinned back. "So let's hear a bit more about you. Not your history, just you." Alex was about to reply when Dean came back.

"Let me guess, now we start digging around to see what we can find, or we go and get a crappy motel to stay in." Alex asked as he approached.

"Already picking up on our process?" Dean asked.

"Logical next steps." Alex shrugged.

"How'd you know we would get a crappy motel?" Sam asked.

"Last night we were in a crappy motel. You guys can't afford a five star hotel and figure that a crappy motel will ask less questions, and you won't stick out like a sore thumb even when you come back bloodied up from a hunt. Am I wrong?" she explained.

"Uh nope. That was pretty good." Dean said. Alex smiled at him. "You picked up on that pretty quick." It was a question.

"Well Sam basically gave me your life story. And you told me it was dangerous. Also you guys seem pretty set in your habits and know what you're doing." Alex felt like she was digging herself into a hole.

"That was still pretty damn fast." Dean was still questioning.

"I also may have read a bit of your dad's journal last night." Sam and Dean both drew in a breath. "I wanted to know what I would be up against." Alex tried to make her case a bit better. Their expressions didn't change. "Sorry." she mumbled. Sam was the first to speak.

"No it's fine. Just ask next time and we'll tell you. The journal's kind of..." he paused, searching for the right word.

"Personal?" Alex supplied.

"Uh yeah. Or you can just take Sammy's laptop." Dean said, trying to avert their attention. Sam glared at his brother.

"Nah. I've got my own. But thanks." she shrugged. "So which are we going to do, research or get a place to crash?"

"I think research." Sam said. Having Alex with them helped. It was her first hunt, but it wasn't personal for her. She could treat it like they would any other. For her, this was normal. At least she understood what it meant to them though. She didn't try to push them awkwardly back to their old neighbors. She just let them do their thing.

Sam glanced at her and noticed a lot of bright red lines on her arm. "What's wrong with your arm?" he asked.

"What? Nothing." Alex covered her right forearm. Dean had caught sight of the marks as well. He pulled her hand off gently and looked at the marks.

"You're hurting yourself." he said, trying to appear calm but he looked quite concerned.

"No I'm not. It helps me." Alex said.

"You self-harm?" Sam seemed truly surprised.

"What? No. I just-" Alex held her arm out for them to get a better look. "It's just with my fingernails. And I scratch the word 'Hope.' It's just a reminder to wake up everyday and hope for the best. After everything that's happened sometimes that's hard. This helps." Sam and Dean studied the marks. She _had_ written 'Hope.' The lines were thick. Clearly, she scratched over it often. There were some fresher lines that she obviously had done just that day.

"But why?" Sam still seemed uncertain.

"I just told you. It's not a problem. Really." Alex assured them.

"Does it hurt you?" Dean asked.

"Not anymore. I barely feel it." It was true. The first few days had burned like hell, but now it just felt like she was running a finger over it, not a nail. "They don't even bleed." That was a lie. They never truly bled out but she had accidentally broken the skin a few times. But even that didn't hurt her anymore. Her tolerance for pain had always been high, a fact that bothered her mom. She never spoke up if she was hurt unless she wanted to get out of something. "But it's not about the pain. It's about the word. I did it on my leg too. It's weird though. I can't get the word out of my head. Anyways, I started doing it the day after my dad died. My mom never noticed and I had no intention of telling her." Alex felt like she was babbling on a bit. Sam and Dean still looked wary about the whole thing but decided to let it go, at least until they finished the hunt. "Can we focus on the hunt now?" Alex was eager to change the subject.

"Alright. Let's try and treat this like any other hunt. What would we do?" Dean asked. Alex knew this was a challenge for them.

"We'd look into the history of the house." Sam said.

"But we already know it." Dean interrupted. "We know what happened."

"Yeah but how much do we know? How much do you actually remember?" Sam asked. Alex was listening closely, trying to store the information. She could tell that Dean hated reliving that night but it looked like he was going to anyway. Alex and Sam were both looking hard at Dean.

"Not much. Fire. The heat. Then I carried you out the front door." Dean's face looked slightly pained.

"You carried me out?" Sam spoke after a second.

"Yeah. You didn't know that?" Dean asked. He seemed surprised. Sam shook his head.

"No." Alex sat quietly next to them. They knew all about what had happened to her. Well they knew the most recent events. But now it was her turn to really hear. Sam had skimmed over this part on the car ride. He didn't know it very well, and she could tell it was hard for Dean to talk about.

"You know Dad's story as well as I do." Dean said. Alex knew the rest of it. Their mom was pinned to the ceiling and the house burned down.

"So do you know what it was?" Alex asked.

"Nope." Dean said.

"Did Dad have any theories about it?" Sam asked.

"If he did he kept them to himself." Dean replied.

"Maybe we should talk to some of his friends. Ask if he ever mentioned something offhandedly without thinking about it." Alex offered.

"Good idea." Dean agreed.

"So this could be the same thing that was there when you lived here?" Alex asked.

"It could be. So to figure out what's happening now, we need to figure out what happened back then." Sam looked uncertain.

"This isn't a regular hunt for you guys is it?" Alex asked.

"No." Sam confirmed. "What about for you Dean?" Dean made no reply but slid into the driver's seat of the car. Alex and Dean slid in after him. It was obvious that he wasn't going to answer. They drove to John's old garage to talk to his old partner. The man didn't seem to know anything, just that John would occasionally say that something caused it. He also knew that John started visiting a palm reader after the fire.

"Thank you for your time." Sam said and the brothers returned to the car where they had left Alex. Alex was too young to easily pose as a police officer. Younger sister easily and even an intern probably, but a cop was too far.

"Any leads?" Alex asked once they got in.

"Dad started seeing a palm reader. So we need to find a phone book to see who we can dig up." Dean told her. They drove to a pay phone and Sam pulled out the phone book. Alex and Dean leaned on the car listening as Sam read out names. They all sounded like a bunch of phonies to Alex but Dean stopped him at the name 'Missouri Mosley.'

"Wait Missouri Mosley?" Dean interrupted. "That's a psychic?"

"Yeah I guess so." Sam said. "Why?" Dean reached back into the car and pulled out the journal that Alex was already familiar with.

"Dad's journal. Here look at this." Sam and Alex leaned over to look at what Dean was pointing out. "First page, first sentence." Dean handed Sam the journal.

"I went to Missouri. And now I've learned the truth." Sam read slowly. He looked up at Dean who looked a bit excited by the find.

"I always though he meant the state." Dean shrugged. They drove over to the address in the book and waited on the couches awkwardly silent. Finally a woman came out escorting a man, telling him that he had nothing to worry about.

"Poor bastard." she said once he had left. "His wife is sleeping with half the neighborhood."

"I thought you just told him-" Sam began.

"People come to me for good news, not the truth Sam." she told him. All three were shocked. They had not said one word to each other, let alone mentioned names. "I know what you're thinking. I'm the real deal. Your daddy came to me after the fire." Okay now this was just getting spooky. "And honey, I am so sorry they dragged you into this." she said to Alex. Alex fought to keep her jaw from dropping.

_Actually I volunteered, _she thought.

"Well that was just silly of you. You're going to get yourself killed girl." Alex let her jaw drop. "Sorry about your parents." Alex had to blink a couple times to try to register the fact that this woman knew about her parents. "And your siblings. Man you are unlucky child." Alex's hand shot to her mouth. She hadn't told Sam and Dean and no one outside their family that was alive really knew what had happened. "At least you made it out of the crash alive." Sam and Dean looked at the teen they had brought along. Siblings? She had told them she was an only child.

"I'll explain later." she mumbled to the two brothers. Missouri turned to Sam.

"Sorry about your girlfriend." she told him. It was Sam's turn to look shocked. "Boy you all have a lot of problems going on don't you. So much loss. Please come in." Alex and Sam looked at each other. This woman had known all about their losses. They passed through the curtain and found a room that actually looked more like a therapist's than a psychic's. There were two couches, a table between them, and the room was well lit. No strange crystal balls or tarot cards spread around in an attempt to create mystery. "And your father. He's missing too."

"Where is he?" Dean asked. Missouri looked at him and gave a short speech about how she wasn't a magician and managed to insult Dean several times throughout. Alex and Sam were working hard not to laugh out loud.

"Have a seat please." Missouri told them. They sat down on one of the couches and Missouri took the opposite. "Boy if you put your foot on my table I will whack you with a spoon.

"I didn't do anything." Dean said defensively.

"Well you were thinking about it." Now fully recovered from this woman's knowledge of her past, Alex was grinning from ear to ear. It was hard not to be entertained by her scolding. Sam too had a large smile on his face.

"So our dad? When did you first meet him?" Sam asked. A short conversation followed, mostly about their dad and what he had wanted to know.

"We need to know what's going on in their old house. If it's what was there before or something else." Alex spoke up. After recovering the initial shock of learning that this woman was truly psychic, she was eager to get Missouri's help.

"Well I'd need to actually go to the house myself."

"Alright then. Let's go." Dean said and stood back up.

* * *

**(A/N) Sorry again. So here we get a bit more information on Alex's past. The bit about her scratching the word, that's something that I do and thought it would make her a bit more interesting. I don't want you guys to think that she goes around cutting herself and having suicidal thoughts, she's not like that. It's more of a nervous habit that also helps her cope.**


	7. It's All Over

**(A/N) I'm moving really slowly with these chapters. Sorry. This one was a little bit longer because I'm trying to finish the episode more quickly. In answer to WinchesterBenson97, my parents would go into conniptions if I got a tattoo. Besides, 50 years from now, I probably won't need it and/or want it. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. I finally finished the whole episode.**

* * *

The now foursome drove to the old Winchester home. Alex sat in the backseat with Missouri, trying to keep her thoughts clear of her family which was a difficult task. The more one tries not to think about something, the more they do think about it. She had a method that was worth a shot and seemed to work for her though. Her mind was a corridor of doors. Anything she wanted kept secret was a locked door. Maybe Missouri just wasn't trying, but the woman didn't say anything else to the teen about the past. They parked in front of the house and walked up. Sam knocked on the door. Jenny answered it holding Richie on her hip.

"Sam, Dean, Alex." she greeted and tried to force a smile. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Hey Jenny." Sam said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked. The brothers looked at her. She shrugged as though she hadn't said anything.

"This is our friend Missouri." Sam introduced. Missouri smiled at Jenny.

"We were hoping to show her the old place, you know for old time's sake." Dean flashed her a smile.

"Sorry now's not a really good time." she said, looking very worried.

"But we really-" Dean began but Missouri smacked the back of his head hard.

"Leave the poor girl alone. Can't you see she's upset? Even Alex could." Missouri snapped at him. Alex paused at the last sentence, trying to decide whether or not be insulted. "Sorry about the boy. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed but he means well." Alex grinned. She found Missouri's constant insults to Dean quite amusing. Dean glared at her. "We're here to help."

"What are you talking about?" Jenny shook her head.

"I think you know what I'm talking about. You think there's something in this house. Something trying to hurt your family." Missouri told her.

"Who are you?" Jenny asked.

"We're people who can help." Missouri said gently. Jenny finally nodded and allowed them inside. Missouri walked through the house. They went upstairs and into what Alex assumed was Sari's room. "Yes. If there is any evil energy here this room should be the center of it."

"Why?" Sam asked after a slight pause.

"Because this was your nursery Sam." Missouri said. Sam drew in a breath. "This is where it all happened.

"You okay?" Alex stood next to him.

"Yeah. I think so." He gave her a small smile. Dean was looking around nervously. Alex understood. This was all getting to be almost too real for her. Dean pulled out the EMF reader and began scanning around the room.

"That a EMF?" Missouri asked him.

"Yeah." Dean looked up.

"Amateur." she snorted. She moved around the room putting her hand over everything. Dean showed Sam and Alex the reader. "I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain't the thing that took your mom." All three looked up at her. None of them seemed sure how to react either.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked. Missouri nodded. "How do you know?"

"It isn't the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It's something different." Missouri explained.

"Then what is it?" Dean asked. Missouri threw open the closet doors.

"Not it. Them." Missouri stepped into the closet. "There's more than one spirit in this place."

"What are they doing here?" Dean asked.

"They're here because of what happened to your family." Missouri walked back out. "You see all those years ago, real evil came to you. That kind of evil leaves wounds. And sometimes wounds get infected." Alex nodded. It sort of made sense. Sam however did not get it.

"I don't understand." Sam said.

"This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It's attracted a poltergeist." Missouri turned to face the closet once more.

"A poltergeist?" Alex asked. She had a vague idea of what it was, mainly from Harry Potter. But she knew it wasn't good.

"Yes. A nasty one." Missouri told her. "And it won't rest until Jenny and her babies are dead." Alex fought a shudder. She knew how that felt.

"You said there was more than one." Sam asked.

"There is." Missouri walked into the closet again. "I just can't quite make out the second one." She came back out.

"Well one thing's for damn certain. No one's dying in this house ever again." Dean's voice was low and dangerous. "So whatever's here, how do we stop it?" Missouri led them back down to the kitchen. She pulled ingredients out of her bag and told them how to make poultices to expel the spirits.

"So what do we do with these?" Alex asked as she sprinkled ingredients into the cloth.

"We put them in the north, south, east, and west corners on each floor of the house."

"And that will get rid of the spirits?" Alex asked.

"It should."

"We'll be punching holes in the drywall. Jenny's gonna love that." Dean muttered sarcastically.

"She'll live." Missouri replied. Alex nodded. Lives were more important than a house. "Now this will purify the house completely. We'll each take a floor."

"There's three floors and four of us." Alex interrupted.

"You'll wait in the car while we do this." Dean told her.

"No way!" Alex exclaimed. "I want to help."

"It's dangerous Alex." Sam told her.

"I know that. You guys are going in. Why can't I?" Alex's voice was still raised.

"We're experts. We're used to dealing with spirits. This is your first hunt." Dean said.

"How will I get experience if you won't let me help?" They seemed stumped at that one.

"If you agree to stay with me the whole time, you can help." Sam agreed.

"Woah Sammy. I don't think-" Dean began.

"I will." Alex grinned.

"We have work fast though. Once the spirits realize what we're up to things are gonna get bad." Missouri warned. The three nodded. They finished making the poultices and waited for night.

"Why are we waiting until it's dark to do this?" Alex asked. Doing it in broad daylight was one thing, but fighting spirits in the darkness of night was much more frightening.

"Because we're gonna send Jenny and the kids out to a movie. That should give us the time we need." Dean explained.

"Why can't they go to a movie before dark?" Alex asked.

"We have to finish our preparations." Missouri added. That seemed to satisfy Alex enough to make her stop asking questions. Soon enough they were sending Jenny, Sari, and Richie out to the movies.

"Ready?" Missouri asked them. They all nodded. Alex was getting nervous now that the time had actually come. She and Sam took the second floor while Missouri took the basement and Dean took the first floor.

"This would go faster if I took two and you took two." she told him.

"I know. But it will be safer if you stay with me. I can protect you." Sam told her.

"I can protect myself." Alex grumbled.

"I believe you. But first time, we just want to be safe." Alex nodded. She wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being on her own with a mean spirit in the house anyway. But she also didn't want them to think she needed protection. They went around the rooms pretty uneventfully. Last they moved to the master bedroom. Sam took the hammer and began knocking a hole in the wall. Alex immediately began looking around for anything that might attack them. The lamp seemed slightly out of place and she fixed her gaze on it. It didn't move. Then she noticed a shadow right above her. The mirror from the wall was right above her. It dropped down and landed on her uncovered face.

"Sam!" Alex shouted. He whirled around before putting the pouch into the wall. The lamp cord wrapped around Sam's neck and began choking him. Alex wiped the glass shards off her face and opened her eyes. She moved to help him before a stone bowl flew off the table and hit her head. Momentarily stunned she fell back onto the broken mirror. Glass shards scratched at her back. Dean came running into the room.

"Sam!" he growled. He knelt down over his brother trying to pull the cord off him. Alex sat up and scrambled to her feet. She picked up the poultice, kicked the rest of the hole in the wall and shoved it in. There was a flash and a rush of energy. The cord around Sam's neck dropped. "Sammy." Dean was trying to get a response out of his brother. Alex moved over slowly. Sam was gasping for breath. Dean pulled his brother up to a sitting position and held him close. The sight of the sibling bond made Alex just a little bit happier. She remembered the feeling. She had been on both ends of it. Once Sam recovered they slowly made their way down the stairs. Missouri was waiting for them in the kitchen. The table sat on its side, at least a dozen knives stabbed through it.

"Child what happened to your face?" Missouri asked the girl. Sam and Dean looked over at her. Alex put a hand up to her face. When she pulled it away, there were spots of blood on it.

"Mirror fell." she said simply. Sam found a napkin and began to gently wipe the thin trails of blood off.

"Sorry. We should have made you stay out." he told her as he cleaned.

"You couldn't have made me. I would have come back in anyway." Alex told him. "Besides, who would have gotten that thing in the wall if I wasn't there?"

"Dean."

"He was too busy keeping you from being choked by a lamp." Alex's voice was harsh but her words brought a small smile. "Thanks." she told him when he finished. He nodded and threw the napkin away. Alex moved to stand next to Dean.

"You sure this is over?" Sam asked Missouri.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked Dean.

"Yeah, none of the knives got me." Dean assured her.

"I'm sure. Why? Why do you ask?" Missouri looked at Sam, concern and confusion on her face.

"Oh nevermind." Sam shook his head. "It's nothing I guess." The front door opened.

"Oh crap." Alex muttered under her breath. The kitchen was a complete disaster.

"Hello? We're home." Jenny's voice called. She stepped into the kitchen and turned on the lights. The mess looked even worse in the light.

"Hi. Sorry." Sam mumbled. "We'll pay for all of this." Dean didn't look too happy at that.

"Don't you worry, Dean's gonna clean up this mess." Missouri told her. Dean looked even more unhappy when she said that. Alex grinned up at the elder Winchester. "Well what are you waiting for boy? Get the mop." Missouri turned to face Dean. Dean turned away. "And don't cuss at me." Alex couldn't help the widening smile that covered her face. Dean moved and began looking for cleaning supplies. Alex moved over to stand by Sam again. Missouri smiled at her. "Glad to see that something can still bring a smile to your face." Alex looked down shyly. Her thoughts turned back to the upstairs. "And you thought your luck was bad before. Now you got seven years of bad luck." Missouri teased. Alex looked up at her and smiled.

"Oh it's okay. I've already got 14 years of good luck."

"How'd you get that?" Sam asked.

"Kissed a stingray twice." Alex grinned up at him.

"What?" Sam's voice was incredulous.

"Yep. Kissing a stingray brings seven years good luck."

"Where did you kiss a stingray?" Sam asked shaking his head.

"The Caribbean. Went on a cruise just over a year ago with my family." Her smile broadened before fading. Sam put an arm around her shoulders.

"Sorry."

"No it's fine. It's nice to remember the good memories I've got with them." They talked with Jenny for a little while before finally leaving. Dean had to help Missouri down the steps. Alex walked behind them with Sam. They turned back and nodded goodbye to Jenny before she closed the door. Dean wanted to go to a hotel but Sam insisted that they stay and watch the house. Alex laid down across the backseat and considered trying to fall asleep. Everytime she closed her eyes images of Sam being choked and the mirror hanging above her head flashed across her closed lids. Instead she just put a headphone in and half listened to the music, half listened to the brothers' occasional conversation.

"Dean." Sam said, loud enough to get Alex's attention. He pointed up to one of the windows on the second floor. Barely visible was Jenny, pounding on it screaming. All three jumped out of the car and raced to the house.

"Alex stay outside." Dean said as they ran up the steps.

"No way." Alex told him.

"You two get the kids, I'll get Jenny." Dean said, too rushed to argue. Sam flung the door open and the three rushed up the stairs.

"I got Richie." Alex told Sam. She ran into the little boy's room.

"Mama?" he asked.

"No. Mama's outside. Let's go get her." Alex lifted the boy up and carried him down the stairs. Dean was already outside with Jenny. She hurried out and handed Richie to Jenny.

"Thank you." Jenny said.

"No problem." Alex said as she caught her breath.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked.

"Getting Sari." Alex told him.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked.

"I'm fine." They saw Sari come running up.

"Where's Sam?" Alex asked the girl before she had even stopped.

"He's still inside. Something's got him." she said. Dean looked up. The door slammed shut and he began running towards the house.

"Alex stay with them." Dean told her. For once the girl didn't argue.

"Sari are you okay?" Alex knelt in front of the girl.

"I'm fine." Sari nodded. Alex looked up. Dean still hadn't got the door open.

"I'm gonna help Dean. Stay right here. I'll be right back." They watched as she ran up to the house, taking the stairs in one bound.

"I told you to stay with them." Dean told her.

"You can't even get the door open. I'll stay outside." Alex told him. She pulled her knife out of her pocket. "Why isn't a lock pick included in this?" she mumbled. She picked one of the tools and began fiddling with the lock while Dean tried to break through the door. With all his kicking it was hard for Alex to twist the lock correctly but she eventually heard the click. "Got it." she told Dean. He pushed the door open and ran inside.

"Stay." he called over his shoulder. Alex grumbled at the command but turned back to the family.

"Still okay?" she asked them as she walked back. Jenny nodded as she held the children close. Alex nodded and paced back and forth across the yard. After what seemed like hours Sam and Dean came out the battered door. Alex ran up to the brothers and saw Sam's tear-stained face. "Are you alright?" she asked him.

"It was our mom." Sam said.

"What?" Alex asked.

"The other spirit. It was our mom." Sam said quietly. Alex nodded.

"Are they gone? Really gone?" she asked. Sam nodded. He pulled the teen into an embrace. Alex felt his whole body trembling. She put her arms around him gently. "It's okay. It's over now." she murmured. Slowly the two slipped apart and walked with Dean back towards Jenny. Not long after Missouri came. The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. Alex stood walked back towards the house as the others began to talk. She leaned against the railing on the steps and watched the others from a distance. Dean noticed and came over to her.

"What are you doing over here by yourself?" he asked and leaned next to her.

"Just thinking." Alex said as she looked out at the neighborhood.

"You wanna go home?" he asked.

"No. No way." Alex shook her head with a slight smile. "I could never go back." she paused. "Does it end like this often? With everyone still alive?"

"Not really." Dean admitted. Alex nodded. "That scare you?"

"Nah. The real world's tough. People don't always live through stuff. That happens. But it's nice when they do get to live."

"You lived." Dean pointed out.

"My family didn't. My parents weren't so upsetting. But my siblings. They were just kids. They had so much more life left to live. And they got cheated out of it. God life sucks." Alex sounded bitter. Dean cocked his head at the sudden revelation about her family.

"How old were they?" he asked.

"The twins were nine. Thomas was 17." Alex said.

"What got 'em?" Dean tried not to ask too much.

"Car crash. Drunk driver." Alex spoke quickly. "Why don't you go talk to Jenny. I saw the way you looked at her." Alex changed the subject.

"I didn't look at her-" Alex put her hand up to stop him.

"Don't even try it. I may not always show emotion but that doesn't mean I can't read it." Alex grinned and pushed him off the rail. Dean smirked back and headed back over to the rest. Eventually handshakes were exchanged and Dean and Sam got ready to leave. Alex pushed off the rail and walked back over slowly.

"Alex?" Sari asked quietly. Alex looked down at the girl.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Are we safe now?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah. You're safe. And if anything does try to come back know that we'll be back to take care of it." Alex assured the young girl.

"You're brave." Sari said. Alex blushed a bit.

"So are you Sari." Alex told the girl. Alex moved over to Jenny.

"Thank you, for everything. You and your brothers are amazing." Jenny told her.

"Thanks. But I guess if I'm gonna be honest, they're not my brothers. We actually just met about a week ago."

"Really?" Jenny asked.

"Yep." Alex grinned.

"Well still. You saved Richie and helped us." Jenny pulled the girl into a hug. Alex stood awkwardly before the young woman released her. "Sorry-" Jenny began.

"Just not a huggy person." Alex smiled. "But it was worth it to save your family. Good luck." Alex grinned. Missouri came up to her.

"You sure you want to stay with those boys?" she asked. Alex glanced at the brothers leaning on the black car.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." Alex smiled.

"Take care of yourself. And the boys. Try to keep them out of trouble." Missouri nodded.

"I won't." Alex's smile turned slightly devilish.

"I know. Just keep finding a reason to smile then. You'll need it out there."

"That I can do." Alex smiled and walked past her to lean against the car next to the brothers. "So, where are we going next?"

"Don't know." Dean shrugged. They all piled into the car and began driving out of the Winchester's neighborhood.

"Hey Alex?" Sam asked.

"Yes?"

"I think it's time we heard your history."

* * *

**So there's the end of the episode Home. You'll have to wait until the next chapter to learn Alex's history. That one should be up sooner though. So the bit about kissing a stingray is real. I learned about it when I went on a cruise and kissed one. Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought.**


	8. Get Out Alive

**(A/N) So here you guys go. Alex's story. Well most of it at least. Who knows what I might not be telling you. I put the beginning of Asylum in this chapter to try to move it along.**

* * *

"Alright, spill." Dean told the girl in the backseat. Alex drew in a breath.

"Well okay. I was the second of four kids. Two girls, two boys. Thomas was about four years older than me, Ian and Zoe were about four years younger, twins. So Sam, those pictures on the wall of the barn were them. My parents were divorced but lived in houses across the street and obviously still spent time together, how else would I have gotten younger siblings? Like I told Sam, we grew up in the city. Portland. I hated it. I like the wide open country. Anyway, lucky me, we moved when I was ten, a week before my eleventh birthday. So none of my friends lived nearby anymore. That was the worst for me. I don't like having to make new friends. I'm not good with people. But I managed. Time passed, nothing real exciting happened. Summer I turned 14, we went on vacation. My first cruise. That was our last trip as a family. About a week later, Zoe had a ballet show. Thomas was 17 so he drove us kids. My parents were too busy to come apparently. So Zoe did the show and we were on our way back when a drunk driver hit us from the driver side. It pushed the car into a tree on the passenger side. Thomas died on impact. Ian, Zoe, and I made it to the hospital. But they both died within a day. Ian had a punctured lung and Zoe had massive head trauma. There was nothing the doctors could do. Though the doctors told me I must have had a guardian angel or something. Broken arm, concussion, lots of bruises and cuts. Nothing I couldn't recover from. I know that wasn't it. The truck hit the other side of the car, and the tree hit the back half of it. So I just got the lucky spot. And that's when I changed. The closest people in the world to me died. There wasn't anything I could do to change it either. So I pushed everyone out. My parents, my friends. I wouldn't do it any different now. I needed time and space. Then I just never brought anyone back in. It was best that way. No one could hurt me and I couldn't hurt anyone. My parents gave up on me. I think they were just surprised that I didn't try to commit suicide or something. Eventually my friends tried to get closer and I let them in a bit. But after taking care of yourself for almost a year, people sort of become a lot less important. And you basically know the rest." Alex's voice was flat and emotionless as she spoke.

"I'm so sorry Alex." Sam was turned around to face her.

"I don't want sympathy. I just want-" she was about to say 'to be left alone' but that didn't sound entirely appealing. 'To forget it all happened' wasn't really what she wanted either. Sam's sympathy actually wasn't so bad. "I don't know what I want. But since my life seems to take what I want and destroy it, I guess that's not a bad thing." It was a joke, but none of them even cracked a smile. "Changing the subject completely, I need new shoes."

"One hunt and you already need new shoes?" Dean asked.

"I don't think that Converse will hold up very well when fighting spirits. Plus they're already pretty worn and beat up." Alex said.

"Can't you just wear one of ours?" Dean said.

"Yeah. Cause my feet can definitely fit into your shoes." Alex said sarcastically. "I wear size 8 in women's. There's no way your shoes are anywhere near my size."

"Fine. We can stop in the next town over. You'll need good shoes. Boots actually." Dean began trying to tell her what was necessary.

"Really? I was thinking of getting Stilettos." Alex found sarcasm the easiest tone to use around Dean.

"Funny." Dean grumbled. They drove for another ten minutes in silence, Alex back to her books, Dean trying to find a town, and Sam reading the journal. A town came into sight and all three began looking for stores. Dean pulled into a promising one and they hopped out. Alex led the way through the store, like she shopped there frequently. The shoes were in the back corner.

"How'd you know where they were?" Sam asked as Alex scanned the shelves.

"Shoes are usually in a corner or at least on a wall. Caught sight of a few of 'em. Also there's a sign hanging above your head." Alex told him. He and Dean looked up. She was right.

"Little miss Sherlock Holmes. Always deducing things." Dean said.

"Little bit, yeah." Alex picked out a box and sat down on the bench. She pulled a pair of black combat boots out and slipped them on.

"You have small feet." Dean commented.

"I know." Alex stood up and walked around in the boots. She came back to stand in front of them.

"Work for you?" Sam asked.

"Yep." she sat down to take the shoes off. "Another question. Can I pick up a couple shirts?"

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Because I don't know how long four are going to last me." Alex rolled her eyes. She never much cared for clothes or shopping at all but living on the road while hunting monsters with only four shirts didn't really sound like a good idea.

"Yeah okay. Go ahead. Do you want us to come with you?" Dean asked awkwardly.

"Uh no. Just uh... you wanna wait here or the car or something." Alex too was awkward.

"We'll meet you at register three in half an hour." Sam supplied.

"Sounds good." Alex nodded and headed off to look at clothes. She had brought four tee shirts. Plain black, black with a wolf, navy blue, and dark gray. Granted, that had been pretty much all she wore but she could access a washing machine any time back home. So she picked up a forest green, lighter gray, and brown to go with. She also found a pair of brown cargo pants as well as a green military jacket. She tried them on before meeting the Winchesters at the register.

"I thought you were just getting a couple tee shirts." Dean said when he was the jacket and pants.

"Yeah well I thought that I could use an extra jacket. And pants." Alex shrugged. She reached to pull out her wallet but Dean beat her to it. He slid a credit card across the counter and paid. The cashier bagged the clothes and handed them to Alex. As soon as they were outside Alex began speaking. "I was gonna pay."

"I know." Dean said.

"How can you even afford it? I mean I don't see you getting paid fort this job." Alex asked. Sam looked uncomfortable.

"Credit card fraud." Sam finally said.

"Ah. That makes sense." Alex nodded.

"You don't seem that bothered." Dean said.

"I was bothered to find out that poltergeists are real. I know credit card fraud happens. I'm not overly surprised. You did pretend to be a reporter and police officers. And that second one's a crime. So yeah." Alex shrugged.

"Fair enough." Dean nodded. They got in the car and drove for a while longer before pulling into a motel.

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

Sam was talking on the phone to someone about their dad. Again. Alex was online, hoping to find some trace of their dad or a good hunt. She wished that she had actually taken the time to learn from her own dad. He could have hacked into some of the websites. That was one of her only regrets about losing him, not learning that skill.

"Caleb hasn't heard from him?" Dean asked when Sam hung up.

"Nope. Neither has Jefferson or Pastor Jim. What about the journal? Any leads in there?" Sam asked.

"Same as the last time I looked. Nothing I can make out. I love the guy but I swear he writes like friggin' Yoda." Dean gave a small chuckle and shook his head.

"You know maybe we should call the feds, file a missing persons." Sam suggested.

"We've talked about this. Dad would be pissed if we put the feds on his tail." Dean gave Sam a scornful look.

"I don't care anymore." Sam said. One of their phones began ringing but Sam ignored it. "After all that happened back in Kansas." Dean got up to answer the phone when he saw that the other two weren't moving for it. "I mean. He should have been there Dean. You tried to call him. And nothing." Sam said. Dean was trying to figure out which pocket of his jacket the phone was in.

"I know." he snapped. "Where the hell is my cell phone?" he mumbled more to himself.

"You know, he could be dead for all we know." Sam said.

"Don't say that." Dean barely even let Sam finish the sentence. "He's not dead, he's..." Dean trailed off trying to come up with something.

"He's what? He's hiding? He's busy?" Sam seemed to believe his own statement. Dean flipped the phone open. A short look of surprise crossed his face followed by a small grin.

"I don't believe it."

"What?" Sam asked.

"It's a text message. It's coordinates." Dean sat down on the bed next to Sam. Alex finally got up and moved over to sit next to Dean.

"Coordinates? For what?" she asked.

"I don't know." Dean said, but the smile lingered on his face. Alex pulled her laptop over and began entering the coordinates.

"You think Dad was texting us?" Sam was pacing across the room.

"He's given us coordinates before." Dean shrugged and leaned over to watch Alex.

"The man can barely work a toaster Dean." Alex snickered at that. That had been her mom. While her dad had built her a computer for Christmas, her mom still needed help checking her email.

"Sam, this is good news. It means he's okay, alive at least." Dean glanced over at his brother.

"Well was there a number on the caller ID?" Alex asked. That was something else her dad could have done. Traced the call.

"Nah it said 'unknown'" Dean shrugged.

"Okay well where do the coordinates point?" Sam asked.

"Nowhere pretty." Alex said. Dean looked back at the computer screen. "Rockford, Illinois."

"What's wrong with that?" Sam asked.

"The local paper. Look at this article I found. Seems up your alley." Alex turned the screen more towards Sam. Both brothers were leaning over her now. "Cop comes home, shoots his wife and himself. Now here's where it gets interesting. The cop and his partner answered a call at the Roosevelt Asylum. The perfect horror movie place. It's a local legend of sorts. Supposedly the spirits of the patients haunt it. But other than it being like every other creepy old asylum in the world, I don't know if there's anything special about it."

"Dad earmarked the location in the journal." Dean told her. He opened the journal and flipped to a page with a news article about the asylum. "Seven unconfirmed sightings, two deaths, until last week at least. I think this is where we should go." Sam smiled and shook his head before standing up.

"This is a job." Sam said. "Dad wants us to work a job. I mean maybe-" Sam started.

"Maybe we'll meet up with him, maybe he's there." Dean seemed fairly happy.

"How do we know this isn't a trap? Your dad got caught and he's being held for ransom or something. Or this could be something else that happens to want to kill you, which seems to be a lot of things." Alex spoke up.

"I agree. Doesn't this strike you as weird? The texting?" Sam asked. Dean looked at them.

"If Dad wants us there it's good enough for me." he shrugged.

"But you don't know it's your dad." Alex pointed out.

"Look, Dad's telling us to go somewhere, we're going." Dean said firmly. He picked up his bag and began gathering his stuff. Alex and Sam looked at each other nervously but it was obvious they couldn't change Dean's mind. They too began packing their stuff. For Alex it was easy. Laptop and books went back into her bag. She had a rotation of her seven tee shirts. One for each day of the week. Occasionally they got to do laundry. Alex never cared much but with hunting it seemed necessary if they wanted to wear something that wasn't covered in dirt or blood. All her clothes were dark. On the plus side, blood and dirt weren't as obvious on them. Alex tossed the new clothes into her already crammed duffel. They were all ready to leave in under ten minutes and began driving to Illinois.

* * *

**(A/N) So there's the first little bit of Asylum. I'm probably not going to play that one out as much as I did in Home just because I have a couple ideas for a little later that I want to get to and not a whole lot for this episode. Hopefully I'll be able to get these chapters up much quicker than I did in Home as well.**


	9. Asylum

**So here's most of what I'm doing with Asylum. I'll conclude it in the next chapter and then move on. I put a little bit more information about Alex in, not so much past but just personality and character.**

* * *

The trip to Illinois was short, at least compared with the trip to Kansas. They headed down to the pub to talk to the dead cop's partner. Sam went in after Dean, leaving Alex alone in the car. They didn't want her coming in and she decided not to argue. Dean came out not five minutes after Sam had left.

"Get kicked out already?" Alex teased as she swung out to lean next to Dean on the side of the car.

"Very funny. Sammy's trying his hand at talking to the cop." Dean told her. Alex nodded and pulled her book through the window. "Are you still reading?"

"I don't have wi-fi and I've got nothing better to do." Alex shrugged and opened the book.

"Icefire? What does that-?" Dean began.

"Dragons can live where it's cold. Supposedly." Alex interrupted. Dean began reading over her shoulder.

"Who's David?" he asked.

"College student living with a woman and her twelve year old daughter. The woman and the girl make dragon statues that are real. Lucy is the daughter and Liz is the mom." Alex gave him a brief summary. They got a couple pages in before Sam came back out.

"Shoved me kind of hard in there buddy boy." Dean said.

"Had to sell it didn't I? It's method acting." Sam shrugged. Alex smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Huh?" Dean asked as Sam walked around the car.

"Nevermind." Sam said.

"What'd you find out from Dunderson?" Dean asked.

"So Walter Kelly was a good cop. Head of his class, he had a bright future ahead of him." Sam said.

"Home life?" Alex asked.

"He and his wife had a few fights like everybody but it was mostly smooth sailing. They were even talking about having kids." Sam told him.

"So he didn't really have a reason to off himself and his wife then?" Alex asked.

"Not really." Sam agreed.

"So either he had a deep seed of crazy or something else was controlling him." Dean said.

"Right." Sam nodded.

"What about the asylum?" Alex asked.

"Lot of stuff there." Sam said. It was already late so they checked into a motel and stayed in for the night. The next morning, they drove out to the asylum.

"Looks like they don't want people getting in here." Alex said. The place was surrounded by fencing and 'Keep Out' signs.

"Sure does." Dean agreed as he jumped onto the fence and climbed over.

"Think you can make it over?" Sam asked Alex.

"That? No problem." Alex leapt onto it, climbed over the top and landed next to Dean.

"Climb fences a lot?" Dean asked.

"Fences, trees, rock walls, houses occasionally." Alex smirked. Dean gave her an odd look. "What? I was always the best climber. My nickname's been 'the monkey' basically since birth. I was also the best to fit in tight places unfortunately. Still have the scars on my back." Alex was smiling as she said it though. Sam hopped over and landed next to them.

"Let's go." They walked into the asylum and Alex understood why people would believe it was haunted. Maybe it was just the fact that it was an asylum, but it was creepy as hell. Graffiti covered the walls inside. She imagined up must be even worse at night. It was hard to tell what the room they stood in had once been.

"So apparently the cops found the kids here." Sam said. "The south wing." Sam gestured to a sign above a doorway.

"South wing huh?" Dean asked. "Wait a second." He pulled out their dad's journal and flipped through the pages. "1972, three kids broke into the south wing, only one survived. The way he tells it, one of his friends went nuts and started lighting up the place."

"So whatever's going on, the south wing seems like the heart of it." Sam said. Which meant that they would be poking through it of course.

"Yeah but if kids are spelunking the asylum why aren't there a lot more deaths?" Dean asked.

"Not all of 'em go to the south wing." Alex suggested.

"Looks like the doors are usually chained." Sam said and walked to the door. A length of heavy chain lay on the floor. "Could've been chained up for years."

"Yeah, to keep people out, or to keep something in." Dean said. Alex pushed one of the doors and it creaked open.

"Shall we?" she asked. Dean brushed past her and began down the hall. Alex followed, Sam bringing up the back. They walked down the hall, looking for anything that might be a sign of a spirit. Dean had the EMF reader out.

"Let me know if you see any dead people Haley Joel." Dean said to Sam. The reference was lost on Alex but she rolled her eyes anyway.

"Dude enough." Sam said angrily. Dean just chuckled.

"No I'm serious you gotta be careful alright?" Dean said. "Ghosts are attracted to that whole ESP thing you got going on."

"I told you it's not ESP. I just have strange vibes sometimes." Sam shook his head. "Weird dreams-"

"Yeah whatever." Dean broke in. "Don't ask, don't tell." Sam and Alex exchanged glances. She rolled her eyes. Sam nodded.

"You getting any readings on that thing or not?" Sam asked.

"Nope. Of course that doesn't mean that nobody's home." Dean said. Alex cocked her head.

"Spirits can't appear at certain hours of the day." Sam told her.

"And the freaks come out at night." Dean said.

"Hey Sam, who do you think's a hotter physic? Trish Arket, Jennifer Love Hewitt, or you?" Dean asked. Alex swatted the back of his head before Sam could say or do anything.

"What the hell was that for?" Dean asked and rubbed his head.

"Leave him alone. Just because he dreams something and it comes true doesn't mean there's anything wrong. I've dreamed about stuff that came true later." Alex glared at him.

"Really?" Dean didn't believe it.

"Yeah." They walked into what looked like a lab. A lab that hadn't been cleaned out. "Well this is disgusting." Alex curled her lip.

"No kidding. Electroshock, lobotomies. They did some twisted stuff to these people." Dean walked through the room. "Kinda like my man Jack in Cuckoo's Nest. " Seeing the reaction both gave him Dean dropped his grin and looked through the other stuff. Alex picked up a jar and unscrewed the lid.

"God that reeks." she said and quickly put the lid back on. "What is this? It doesn't look like a brain." She put it back down and moved past it. "Decapitated doll, random body parts, yep this is officially creepy."

"What do you think? Ghosts are possessing people?" Dean asked.

"Maybe." Sam said. "Maybe it's more like Amityville. Or the Small Haunting." Alex knew neither of the movies but figured it out from Dean's comment.

"Spirits are driving them insane." Dean nodded. "Kinda like my man Jack in the Shining." Alex decided she needed to get some horror movie knowledge if any of what the brothers said was going to make sense.

"Dean. When are we gonna talk about it?" Sam asked.

"Talk about what?" Dean asked.

"About the fact that Dad's not here." Sam said. Alex honestly hadn't expected him to be. But this hunt still promised to be interesting. A haunted asylum. Now that was your basic horror movie.

"Oh uh let's see. Never." Dean said.

"Being serious man." Sam said.

"So am I Sam. Look he sent us here. He obviously wants us here. We'll just have to pick up the search later." Dean shrugged calmly.

"It doesn't matter what he wants." Sam said.

"That attitude right there. That is why I always got the extra cookie." Dean pointed at his brother. Alex rolled her eyes.

"Dad could be in trouble. We should be looking for him." Sam said. "We deserve some answers Dean. I mean this is our family we're talking about."

"I understand that Sam." Dean raised his voice. "But he's given us an order."

"So what? We gotta always follow Dad's orders?" Sam asked. Alex agreed with Sam, though she did want to stay on the hunt.

"Of course we do." Dean said firmly. He turned and went back to investigating the room. He picked a sign up off the table and read it out loud quietly. "Sanford Ellicott. You know what we gotta do. We gotta find out more about the south wing. See if something happened here." Sam shook his head at Alex as Dean handed him the sign but she just shrugged as they followed him out. Alex sprung up onto the fence outside. She swung her left leg over and was bringing the right over when her foot slipped and she tumbled to the ground with a thud.

"Alex!" Sam exclaimed and hopped over. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Sam. I probably wasn't even six feet up." Alex stood up. Dean landed next to them.

"You alright kid?" he asked.

"Fine." Alex dusted herself off. She took a step forward and winced. "Maybe not so fine." She took a few more limping steps to the car. "Well crap."

"I'll take you back to the motel. Sam, see if you can find any of Ellicott's relatives." Dean said. They drove back to the motel and Sam took the car out after he found a man named Ellicott. "Be careful with her." Dean told him.

"I know Dean." Sam said as he walked out the door. Alex laid on the bed she was sharing with Sam and pulled off the boot. Dean felt her ankle for any broken bones.

"Well it's swollen and probably sprained but not broken." Dean told her. He wrapped it tightly with bandages. "How's that feel?"

"Good thanks." Alex said.

"Thought you said you were a good climber." Dean began packing up the medical supplies.

"Even the best fall sometimes." Alex shrugged.

"You said you were the small space specialist and got some scars." It was a question. Dean flopped down on his own bed.

"Yeah. A couple came when we were playing wiffle ball in my friend's yard. Problem was, behind home base were rose bushes. Usually the ball wouldn't roll all the way back to them but occasionally it would. I got sent after it. Rose thorns are not fun to try to crawl between. Still, I did pretty good. Anyway, a couple came from falling out of trees. One came from our old cat." Alex explained.

"Your cat?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. Vicious old orange tom. Charlie." Alex said.

"Wait Tom or Charlie?" Dean asked. Alex smiled.

"Tom is what you call a male cat. A tom cat. His name was Charlie." Alex chuckled. "Pass me my laptop. Let's see what we can find online about the asylum." Dean passed it to her and pulled out his. They searched for a while before Sam came back.

"Dude you were in there forever! What the hell were you talking about?" Dean said.

"Just the hospital. You know." Sam shrugged. Alex caught his eye. It couldn't have taken that long.

"And?" Dean asked.

"And the south wing? It's where they housed the real hard cases. The psychotics, the criminally insane..." Sam listed.

"Oh nice." Alex said sarcastically.

"Yeah. And one night in '64 they rioted. Attacked staff, attacked each other." Sam said.

"So what the patients took over the asylum?" Dean asked.

"Apparently." Sam shrugged and sat on the bed next to Alex.

"Deaths?" Alex asked.

"Some patients, some staff. I guess it was pretty gory." Sam replied. "Some of the bodies were never even recovered. Including our Chief of Staff Ellicott."

"Wait. What do you mean never recovered?" Dean asked.

"Cops scoured every inch of the place but I guess the patients must've stuffed the body somewhere hidden." Sam explained.

"That's grim." Dean said.

"Don't blame 'em." Alex said. The brothers turned to look at her. "What? You said it yourself Dean when we were in there. Electroshock, lobotomies. That's some nasty stuff."

"I guess that's true." Dean agreed. "But what happened after that?"

"So they transferred the remaining patients and the hospital was shut down for good." Sam told them.

"So to sum it up we got a bunch of violent death and a bunch of unrecovered bodies." Dean said.

"Which could mean a bunch of angry spirits." Sam concluded.

"Oh great. Bunch of psychotic and angry spirits in a creepy old asylum. That sounds nice." Alex said sarcastically.

"Yeah. Let's check out the hospital tonight." Dean said.

"Oh yay. Going into the haunted asylum at night now. How fun." Alex's sarcasm continued.

"I don't think you should come." Sam told her.

"Why not?" Alex asked.

"Because you wouldn't be able to get away if something was chasing you." Dean said. Alex looked down at her bandaged ankle.

"Good point." she sighed.

"Don't worry. Your ankle should be fine for the next hunt. We'll take care of this one." Sam assured her.

"Okay. You guys better tell me how it went when you come back though." Alex said.

"Sounds good." Dean said. Alex and Sam began researching the riots while Dean searched for some of the patients. Night fell and the brothers headed out for the hunt.

"Good luck." Alex called from the bed.

"Thanks." Sam said as he walked out the door. "Don't open the door unless it's us, don't go out-"

"Sam, I'll be fine. I know how to take care of myself. I spent all of last summer and this summer home alone. I can manage."

"Alright." Sam closed the door, leaving Alex the room to herself.

* * *

**So that's the bulk of it. Please tell me what you thought.**


	10. Wild Child

**So here's the conclusion of Asylum. Enjoy this chapter, I added the beginning of Scarecrow in at the end just so I would have a better conclusion at the end. Sorry it took so long.**

* * *

Alex was bored out of her mind. If her ankle wasn't sprained, she would have been pacing. Then again, if her ankle wasn't sprained she would have been at the asylum taking care of the spirit. She pulled her laptop out and began poking around for nothing in particular. Even though she knew there would be no new messages, she opened up her email.

"What the-?" she stared at the screen. Much to her surprise there was a new message. From a contact she didn't know. Hesitantly, she clicked the message.

_Alex,_

_You don't know me, or probably even that I exist. My name is Tyler. I'm your cousin. I'm 26. I heard about your parents deaths. I'm sorry, that's a terrible tragedy. The police told us that you were still alive but nowhere to be found. I just want to make sure you are okay. Please reply to this email so I can know for sure. Also, maybe you could come out to Kentucky. I don't know how my mom would feel about that but it would be nice to meet you. Besides, I've heard you're a horse girl and you probably know how famous Kentucky is for its horses. Anyway, it would be nice to talk to you in person. I hope I'll get the chance to see you._

_Your cousin,_  
_Tyler Morgan_

"What the heck is going on?" Alex whispered. After a minute of contemplation, she decided to risk a reply.

_Tyler,_

_Nice to hear from you. You were correct in assuming that I didn't know you exist. I can assure you that I am alive though I am currently sitting in bed with a sprained ankle. However, I am doing quite well. A visit would be quite nice though I doubt its chances. It would be very difficult for me, though not impossible. Who knows, perhaps I will find myself in Kentucky soon. I would like to meet you in person and talk but for now it appears that this is the only way we can talk. Please don't try to trace this email or anything like that. I am happy where I am. As much as I would like to meet you, I have new obligations and friends. It is safe, don't worry. Again, it's nice to hear from you. I hope we can continue to talk._

_Your cousin,  
Alex Thurman_

"Well alright then." she spoke quietly to herself. She pulled out her green notebook and began writing in it. After finishing the entry, she pulled out her black book and flipped a couple pages in to a blank one. It was the journal she was filling with what she learned from Sam and Dean. The first couple pages had the information she'd learned about vengeful spirits and poltergeists. Once she had written what she knew about the asylum and its ghosts, she tried the TV. After flipping several channels she found a show that she actually enjoyed. Three episodes of Veronica Mars later, a new, crappy, 3 am show came on. Alex decided to grab a couple hours of sleep. She turned the lights out and fell asleep relatively easily. However her sleep itself was troubled and not two hours later she woke up feeling even more tired than before. Slipping back into old routine, she pulled her laptop out and opened a new tab to begin playing music. Sam and Dean would probably hate it, which was why she took the alone time to play it out loud and even sing along, despite hating her singing voice. As long as no one was around it didn't matter. Her mind wandered for a while as she listened, visiting memories she had all but entirely forgotten. Her laptop beeped with a new email.

_Alex,_

_Thank God you're alive! We, your aunt, Jordan, and I, were really worried. They didn't want me to send the email but I did anyway. Looks like it paid off. Jordan is your other cousin by the way. She's 22. Anyway, I promise I won't try to track you down. I'll have a hard time keeping my mom from tracking you but I'll do my best. Honestly I'm a little worried though. Who are these friends and what are the obligations that you have now? And how did you sprain your ankle? What are you doing? And can you at least tell me where you are? Please, come visit us. If you like it, maybe you could stay. We'd really like to see you. Could you maybe send us a picture? At least tell us about yourself. Sorry, I probably sounded like a frantic mother in this email. I'm just really surprised to hear from you._

_Your cousin,  
Tyler_

Alex couldn't help the small grin that came as she read the email. She replied quickly._  
_

_Tyler,_

_Sorry to have you guys so worried. But don't worry. Life's working out for me. I can't tell you my friends' names or what we're doing but I promise it isn't illegal. I fell off a fence. That's how I sprained my ankle. At home. I fell off our fence. I also can't tell you where we are. Like I said in the last email, I'm not really in control of where we go. But I will try to get you guys on our path at some point. I can't send a picture, not right now at least. But I guess I could tell you a little about myself. I'm 15. I love sports. I'm not very tall. I have blonde hair and hazel eyes. I'm fairly smart. I like to read, watch movies, and play guitar. I love music. Kind of a random list there but that's a little something. How about you? What are you like?_

_Your cousin,  
Alex_

Alex sighed and closed out of her email. She pulled out one of her spare notebooks and began writing down the facts she had learned about her family.

Sam and Dean came back a little after sunrise.

"Fun night?" Alex asked as they came in.

"What the hell are you listening to?" Dean asked. Alex paused the song.

"Yeah." Alex shifted and ran a hand through her hair. "It's not for most people. It's called Can You Feel My Heart by Bring Me the Horizon."

"It's just, like, screaming." Dean said.

"Yeah a bit. But it's the lyrics that matter. 'I'm scared to get close. I hate being alone. I long for that feeling to not feel at all.' They actually mean something." Alex was always happy to defend her music. "But anyway, let's hear about the hunt. What happened?"

"Oh not much. Went in to find all the bodies and burn 'em, ended up finding two kids who thought it would be a good place for a date, found out the doctor was doing much worse than lobotomies, the patients were actually asking for help, Sam got attacked by the doc and shot me-" Dean listed.

"Wait, Sam you shot him?!" Alex exclaimed.

"Ellicott was controlling me. Sort of. It was weird. He made all the hate and anger come to the surface. And violence. It was only with rock salt." Sam defended himself.

"Ah. Okay then. Continue." Alex told Dean. Dean huffed but continued.

"Well I knocked Sammy out. The doctor tried to attack me but I managed to salt and burn the bones. Then we got the kids out and came back here." Dean finished. "How was your night?" Alex laughed.

"Well it dulls in comparison. Played around on my computer, watched TV, slept, and listened to music." Alex gave a vague outline. "But uh, there was one thing I thought I should tell you. I got an email. From my cousin."

"What? I thought you were just making them up." Sam asked.

"So did I. But he wants me to come and meet him. I told him it wasn't likely but if I was in town I might say 'hi.' I didn't say where I was or who I was with. Just that I was safe and alive." Alex told them.

"Can I see the email?" Dean asked. Alex gave him a queer look but nodded and brought her email back up. Dean read it quickly. "Does it seem real to you?"

"I think so. I know my aunt lives in Kentucky. And she is the older sibling so it's not surprising that he could be eleven years older than me."

"Well if we're ever in the area maybe you can see them. We're not gonna go out of our way to-" Dean told her. Alex put up a hand.

"I know. There are hunts to be done and we have to find your dad. But if we end up nearby I would like to visit. I think." Alex shrugged.

"Good. That's settled." Dean said.

"So. Where to next?" Alex asked.

"I don't know. But I'm tired. I'm gonna get some sleep. Did you say you slept?" Dean said.

"Eh. Got a good, well decent, hour and a half." Alex gave him a small smile.

"Well what do you guys say we grab some sleep and then head out?" Dean suggested.

"Works for me." Alex nodded. Sam nodded as well.

"Sure." Alex slid over to make room for Sam on the bed. He got in and laid next to her. "How's your ankle?"

"Sprained." Alex tried to keep a serious face but could feel a smile trying to come out. Sam chuckled. "It's not too bad. I've hurt it worse."

"You seem to manage that a lot." Sam commented. Dean was in his bed already asleep.

"Yeah. I liked things that were very fun but could possibly end badly. My dad always said I was trouble. And he was right. If someone told me it was dangerous I was probably going to try it."

"Wild child." Sam snickered.

"Geronimo." Alex gave the word a slight tune.

"Huh?" Sam asked.

"It's a song. Nevermind." Alex smiled.

"Does everything you hear remind you of a song?" he asked.

"Pretty much. Now can we please go to sleep?" Alex asked, pretending to sound annoyed. Sam grinned.

"Sure." He turned off the light and they both fell asleep quickly.

After a couple hours Sam was woken by the phone ringing. "Dean." he groaned. Dean was still asleep. He grunted but reached over and answered the phone. "Hello?" The voice that spoke caused him to sit up straight. Alex was woken for the second time by Sam's sudden movement.

"You okay Sam?" she asked.

"Dad?" Sam said quietly. Alex's hand shot to her mouth. Sam spoke quietly and Alex listened to his half of the conversation. If Dean had been within her reach she would have woken him. Dean woke up on his own to Sam's voice. When he heard Sam say 'Dad' again he rose up and stared at his brother.

"Is that Dad?" Dean asked. Alex nodded and mouthed 'yes' to him. She paused for a second after. Despite finding the elder Winchester slightly annoying she had to admit he was pretty damn hot. She snapped herself back to the phone call. Dean reached out for the phone. "Give me the phone." he whispered. Sam continued talking to their dad, his voice sounding angrier the more he spoke. Dean asked again, louder. Sam ignored him. Finally Dean snatched the phone out of his brother's hand. "Dad where are you?" Dean asked. He listened before grabbing a pen and paper and writing down the names their father listed. Sam still looked angry. Alex sat up and situated herself next to Sam

"He told you not to find him." she said. It was sort of a question but more a statement.

"He gave me an order." Sam snorted. "He told me to do some job he is now telling to Dean." Alex nodded. Dean finished getting the names down and tried to get more out of his dad but was forced to just say goodbye. None of them said anything but they packed and headed out to the car. Sam took the driver's seat for once as Dean sat in the passenger seat trying to figure out what he could about the names. Alex, though she would've liked to help with the research, decided to try and get a few more hours of sleep. She knew that the brothers would get her caught up once she woke up.

* * *

**Like I said, that's the end of Asylum. And a little bit of the beginning of Scarecrow. Did you guys like the peek at Alex's family? I wonder if she'll visit them...**


	11. Scarecrow

**Here's the real beginning of Scarecrow. And about the first half of the episode. I feel so proud. I got two chapters up in one day.**

* * *

Alex woke as Dean was pulling out of a gas station.

"Where's Sam?" Alex asked.

"He went to go find our dad. I don't know how it didn't wake you up." Dean sighed.

"I was exhausted. Is he coming back?" Alex asked quietly.

"I don't think so. Not until he finds our dad. Or something worse happens. Once we're done with this, we'll go find him. He's headed to California." Dean told her.

"Oh." Alex sat up. She honestly preferred the younger Winchester but wasn't about to get out of the car now and follow him. She decided not to talk about it anymore. "What about the hunt? What do you know?"

"Well I think I've managed to find the place where all the couples passed through." Dean said. Alex cocked her head. "Right sorry. All the victims on the list were couples. They disappeared. And the only place they all passed through was this part of Indiana."

"How long 'til we get there?" Alex asked.

"'Bout another hour." Dean told her as they got back on the main road. They continued the ride in silence, Dean still thinking about Sam and Alex not wanting to annoy him. "Any more word from your cousin?" he finally said after almost half an hour.

"Haven't checked. They're all worried about me. I don't blame 'em it's just..." Alex struggled to find the words.

"You want them to stop asking questions?" Dean offered.

"Exactly." Alex paused. "I didn't even know I had cousins. My parents were so weird about it. Come to think of it my grandparents never talked about Aunt Julie either. It's just, weird." She realized she was thinking out loud. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Was she just the black sheep?" Dean asked.

"Felt like I was the black sheep. Always the odd one out. The twins had each other. Once Thomas got older he hung out with the adults. I guess that was why I was always on my own, even when I wasn't around family. I was so used to coping with it. I'm babbling. Sorry. Again." Alex looked down.

"No problem. Just wondering, what got you into weapons?" Dean really was just curious.

"I don't know. It was fencing first. I always thought sword fighting was cool. Then I got into archery because of a book series. After that I just figured why not complete the trio and learn how to use a gun. And hand to hand I just learned fighting my siblings. Pressure points, weak spots, easiest way to stop them dead in their tracks."

"Ah yes. The great sibling wars." Dean smirked.

"You had 'em?" Alex asked.

"All the time. And I won 90% of the time. Sammy always preferred school and research." Dean's smile became sad. "But you. You did the research with him and fought the spirits. And I heard the guitar when we left your place."

"Jack of all trades." Alex shrugged. "Seriously. Not stunning at anything, just good at a lot of stuff. Except art. All around terrible at that." Dean's real smile came back.

"How terrible?" he grinned.

"Like stick figures and ball-of-swirls trees terrible." Dean chuckled. "The only 'art' I can do is photography. I can play guitar. But that's it musically. Don't sing, don't dance."

"Wait. You don't dance?" Dean asked.

"Nope. Never slow danced. Never went to a school dance."

"That's wrong. How can you not know how to dance?" Dean shook his head.

"Well I sort of know how. Just never actually used the skill." Alex shrugged. "Guessing you've danced before."

"What makes you guess that?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. You just look, and act, like you've had your fair share of girlfriends. There's no way you'd have gone without dancing." Alex smirked.

"Well you are right. But what do you mean I look and act like I've had my fair share of girlfriends." Alex just gave him a knowing smile. "Fine then. I won't get Sammy to teach you to dance." Alex gave him a funny look.

"And what makes you think I would want that?" Alex asked, though she had a feeling she knew what his answer would be.

"You just look and act like you do." Dean smirked at her in the mirror. They were coming up on a small town.

"This it?" Alex asked. Dean saw a sign with the town name.

"Uh yeah. What do you say ask around a little bit and then we get something to eat? I'm starving." Dean suggested.

"Seems like you're always either hungry or tired." Alex commented.

"I'm stopping to get food whether you want to or not." Dean told her.

"Yes I'm hungry." Alex smiled. They pulled into a small restaurant and saw a man sitting outside.

"Let me guess, Mr. Scotty?" Dean asked, after seeing the sign for the restaurant.

"Yep." The man looked up at the sign then back at Dean.

"Hi. My name's John Bonham." Dean introduced himself.

"Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin?" Scotty asked.

"Wow. Good. Classic rock fan." Dean chuckled.

"What can I do for you John? And," he looked over at Alex.

"Joan. Joan Black." Alex smiled. Dean pulled several of the missing posters out of his pocket.

"We were wondering if you had seen any of these people by chance." Dean handed Scotty the papers.

"Nope. Who are they?" Scotty asked after giving them a good enough look.

"Friends of ours. They went missing about a year ago. They passed through somewhere around here." Dean told him.

"Sorry. We don't get many strangers 'round here." Scotty handed Dean the papers.

"Scotty you got a smile that lights up the room. Anyone ever tell you that?" Dean joked, hoping that the serious faced man might smile. Instead the man just stared. Dean gave a short awkward laugh.

"Nevermind. See you around." Dean said and walked away with Alex on his heels. "Joan Black?" he asked once they were far enough away.

"You went classic rock. The first female name that came to my mind was Joan Jett. But that was too obvious. So I went from jet to black. Easy connection." Alex tried to explain her reasoning.

"Interesting." he said. "Joan Jett? Really?" he continued after a pause.

"First name I thought of Dean. Can we get food now?"

"Let's keep looking just a little first." Dean said. They hit the general store next. Dean offered the owners the posters and gave the same little story.

"I don't remember them." The old man who owned the store said. His wife shook her head. "You said they were friends of yours?"

"That's right." Alex nodded.

"Did the guy have a tattoo?" A girl coming down the stairs with boxes asked.

"Yes he did." Dean said.

"You remember. They were just married." the girl told the old couple.

"You're right." the man said. "They did stop for gas. Weren't here more than ten minutes."

"Do you remember anything else?" Dean asked.

"Told 'em to get back to the interstate. Then they left town." the man shook his head.

"Could you point us in that same direction?" Dean asked.

"Sure." The man told them which way to go and they walked back to the car. Alex was about to climb into the backseat when Dean stopped her.

"Get in the passenger seat. You'll be able to see better." Dean told her. Alex nodded and swung in up front. They drove up the road, looking for anything suspicious. A little ways past the town, the EMF reader started beeping. Alex reached back and rifled around in the bag for it while Dean pulled over. She eventually dug it out and showed it to Dean. The thing was going crazy. They got out of the car and began walking around. It seemed to peak near an old apple orchard.

"Well, that's not creepy at all." Alex said as they walked in.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Oh you know. Just a foggy old apple orchard. I feel like the Wicked Witch of the West is going to swoop down with her flying monkeys. Or a decrepit old woman is going to start offering us the apples."

"Why the Wicked Witch of the West?" Dean asked.

"You know. Dark, dead looking forest." Alex shrugged. Dean nodded and they continued.

"Now that's creepy." Dean said and pointed to an old scarecrow.

"If only he had a brain." Alex joked, though it was hard looking at the hideous thing up on the poles.

"Sorta glad he doesn't. Looks like he wants to become a serial killer." They walked around and stood in front of it. "Dude, you fugly." Dean told the scarecrow. Alex nodded in agreement. Dean leaned in then turned to move one of the nearby ladders up to the scarecrow.

"What'd you see?" Alex asked. Dean stared at the scarecrow's face another second before looking down at its arm. Alex stepped closer. "What?" Dean pulled out the 'Missing' poster of the young man and compared the tattoo on his arm to the skin on the scarecrow. Then he lowered the poster to Alex. "Is that?"

"I believe it is." Dean nodded. "Nice tat." he told the scarecrow before climbing down. They walked back to the car and drove back to the town.

"Killer scarecrow?" Alex asked.

"Maybe. Or maybe someone, or something, is killing the people and putting their skin on the scarecrow." Dean suggested.

"That seems a bit odd." Alex said.

"And a killer scarecrow doesn't?" Dean retorted.

"Fair enough. So what are we hoping to find back in town?" Alex asked.

"I don't know. Maybe the locals have a story about it." Dean pulled up in front of the gas station, though it appeared to be the only place to have anything done to a car. The girl from the general store was there.

"You're back." she said.

"Never left." Dean replied as he and Alex got out.

"Still looking for your friends?" she asked. Dean nodded.

"You mind filling her up there Emily?" Dean asked as he read her necklace. Emily smiled and nodded, bringing the pump around the car. "So did you grow up here?"

"Came here when I was thirteen. I lost my parents in a car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in." Alex nodded.

"Are they nice people?" Dean asked.

"Everybody's nice here." Emily smiled.

"So what it's the perfect little town?" Dean joked.

"You know, it's the boonies. But I love it." Emily shook her head. "I mean the towns around us, people are losing their homes, their farms. But here. It's almost like were blessed." Alex shot Dean a quick glance. Something strange was definitely going on.

"Hey you been up to the orchard? Seen that scarecrow?" Dean asked.

"It creeps me out." Emily said.

"Is there anyone it wouldn't?" Alex spoke for the first time. Emily smiled.

"I doubt it." Emily agreed.

"Whose is it?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. It's just always been there." Emily said.

"That you aunt and uncle's?" Dean asked, nodding towards the red car behind Emily.

"Customer. Been having some car troubles." Emily said.

"It wouldn't happen to be a couple would it? Guy and a girl?" Alex asked.

"Mhm." Emily nodded. Dean and Alex shared a glance.

"Well thanks. We were thinking of getting something to eat." Alex said. "Best place?"

"Scotty's" Emily said.

"Thanks." Dean said. They drove over to the restaurant and headed in. "Hiya Scotty." Scotty looked up at them. "A coffee. Black." Dean said. He took a seat at the table behind the couple. Alex sat across from him. "And a slice of that pie."

"Two please." Alex added. They sat for a second before Dean began trying to strike up a conversation with the couple.

"How you doing?" Dean asked. The girl looked up at him. "Just passing through?"

"Roadtrip." she smiled.

"Mm. Yeah. Us too." Dean nodded. Scotty came back out with a pitcher of what looked like it was probably apple juice.

"I think these people would like to eat in peace." Scotty told Dean.

"Just making a little friendly conversation." Dean said. "Oh and that coffee too thanks." Scotty gave him a dark look. "So what brings you to town?" Dean asked.

"We just stopped for gas. Guy in the gas station just saved our lives." The girl told him.

"How's that?" Alex asked.

"One of our brake lines was leaking. We had no idea. And he's fixing it for us." the man told them.

"Nice people." Dean said.

"How long's that take?" Alex asked.

"We'll be leaving around sundown." the man said.

"Really?" Dean said quietly. He and Alex looked at each other. "To fix a brake line?" Dean asked. The man nodded. "Well I know a thing or two about cars. I could probably have you two up and running in about an hour, wouldn't charge you anything.

"You know, thanks a lot be we'd rather have a mechanic do it." the girl smiled.

"Sure. Yeah." Dean said quietly. "You know it's just that these roads, they're not real safe at night."

"I'm sorry?" the girl asked.

"I know it sounds strange but you might be in danger." Dean said.

"He means there are uh wild animals out there. Big ones. And if you hit one in the dark, well you'd be stuck." Alex offered. The couple shared a nervous look.

"We're trying to eat here okay?" the man said.

"Right sure." Dean said quietly. "You know my brother could give you this puppy dog look and you'd buy right into it." Dean shook his head with a sigh.

"He could probably get out of being arrested with that look." Alex said. Scotty came out to the front and opened the door.

"Thank you for coming sheriff." he greeted. Dean and Alex looked up.

"I'd like a word with you two." the sheriff approached their table.

"Oh come on. I'm having a bad day already."

"You don't wanna make it worse." the sheriff said. Dean and Alex exchanged a glance. Dean swung a punch at the man before they bolted out of the restaurant and ran to the car. The sheriff was right behind them. He chased them out of town.

"Wonderful." Alex said when the sheriff turned around at the city limits.

"Yeah no kidding. We'll head back in a little after sundown. Try to save that couple and not get caught ourselves." Dean said and pulled off to the side of the road just around a curve.

"Sounds like a plan." Alex nodded. "Until then?"

"Well I'm going to get some more sleep. You can do whatever you want. Just don't hurt Baby. Or me." Dean said. Alex snickered when he called the car 'Baby.'

"Fine." she pulled out her headphones and prepared to wait for sundown. "We never got our pie."

* * *

**So there's about the first half of Scarecrow. I'll do the rest in the next chapter. Initially I was going to send Alex with Sam but I decided that this made more sense and was easier to write. A lot less missing time. But I hope you enjoy it. I'll find some time for Sam and Alex to spend time together.**


	12. Ritual

**(A/N) This is the conclusion of Scarecrow. I'm trying to find a good place to stick in a meeting with the cousins. Still working on it.**

* * *

Once it was dark Alex and Dean headed back towards the town.

"Think we should check the orchard first?" Alex asked.

"Probably." Dean nodded. "You sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely. Just give me a gun and I'll do what you need me to." Alex said firmly.

"Alright." Dean shrugged. They pulled up in front of the orchard. A car was stalled in front of it. "Come on." Dean popped the trunk and handed Alex a shotgun. They hurried into the forest, trying to find the source of the screams. Soon enough their paths crossed. The couple was being chased by the scarecrow. "Get back to your car." Dean shouted at them. "Now!" The couple ran past him and Alex. Alex and Dean raised their guns and fired at the figure. The bullets did nothing and it kept approaching. "Run." Dean told Alex and they took off after the couple, with Dean occasionally firing shots behind them. They made it back to the cars and Alex and Dean turned to point their guns back to the trees. Nothing came out.

"What was that?" The man asked.

"You don't wanna know." Alex told him. She and Dean sent the couple on their way with a recommendation to never go back there again. The couple agreed to that and drove away quickly. Alex and Dean got back into the Impala and started driving, though Alex wasn't sure where. Dean called Sam, something Alex was glad of. They talked for a while discussing what could be going on. Then Dean started to attempt to apologize to Sam. Alex found it kind of sweet. "That was nice." Alex told him when he hung up.

"Yeah shut up." Dean shook his head.

"So headed to a college to look up pagan gods. I'm guessing that means they really exist too?" Alex decided to change the subject.

"Yes to both." Dean said. "You should probably stay out in the car. I'm not sure you..." Dean trailed off.

"Look old enough to pass as a college student. Got it." Alex smiled. It was slightly annoying. People always guessed her age wrong. She had one of those 'could be 12 could be 18' faces. Whatever age she said, most people would believe. "Just tell me what you find out when you come back."

"Of course." Dean said. Dean parked in front of the large building of the campus and hopped out. "Stay low, try not to get noticed." he cautioned.

"Will do." Alex smiled. Dean got out and headed into the building. Alex laid down on the backseat and pulled out her laptop. She logged onto the college's wifi and opened her email. There was a new message.

_Hey Alex,_

_Well first things first, Jordan is a guy. I made a typo in the last email. He punched me for it. Anyway, nice to hear a little about you. As for me, I have black hair, blue eyes, and am 5'11". I don't play any sports. I'm an artist. And a singer. I know it sounds kind of dumb but it's true. I work at the racetrack near our house. I'm still taking a few college classes. Jordan is pretty different from me, but we look a lot alike. He has black hair and brown eyes. He's 6'1". He also works at the racetrack. He does computer stuff. But he works out a lot and plays football. From the sound of it you two might like each other. My mom is concerned about your schooling. How are you doing that? Are the people you're with teaching you? She was wondering if they seemed odd. Did strange stuff, and she mentioned hunting? Thanks for the reply and answer._

_Your cousin,  
Tyler_

Alex frowned at the email. Her aunt couldn't mean their kind of hunting. Maybe it was just slang for something else entirely. She was about to reply when she looked up and saw the sheriff from Burkitsville striding across the parking lot.

"Oh crap." she muttered. Once he stepped inside the building, she launched out of the car and raced to the building. She followed him through the halls keeping just out of sight. Being small did have its advantages every once in a while. He stopped outside one of the doors. Alex watched him, but he did nothing. A couple minutes later, the door opened and the sheriff knocked Dean out with the butt of his gun. Unable to stay still, Alex burst around the corner and knocked the sheriff to the ground. He was caught off guard but soon wrestled his way on top of her. A strong punch to the face and she too was out cold.

**xxxxx**

"Alex. Alex!" Dean was shouting. Alex raised her head. She was laying on a wooden bench.

"What?" she mumbled. Her head was throbbing.

"Your nose!" Dean exclaimed.

"What about it?" Alex asked. "It's not like I can see it for myself."

"It's bloody." Dean said.

"Really? Who knew getting punched in the face would give me a bloody nose?" Alex said sarcastically. She blinked several times, trying to accustom her eyes to the dark. "Where are we?"

"Storage cellar I think." Dean said. Alex swung her legs off and sat up.

"So I'm guess we're gonna be the sacrifice then?" Alex asked.

"Looks that way. Unless we can get out of here." Dean climbed up the stairs and began hitting the doors with his shoulder. Alex dug around in her pockets. The only thing she had was her Swiss Army Knife. Not much use when there were thick wooden doors keeping them in. She looked through the shelves for anything that could be helpful. Dean came back down and looked with her.

"How do we destroy the god?" Alex asked.

"We torch the sacred tree." Dean said.

"And what's the sacred tree?" Alex questioned.

"It's the tree that gives the god it's power. Basically. We torch it, the god loses its power." Dean told her.

"Alright. Which tree is it?" Alex needed to know what the plan was, should they get out of the cellar.

"I don't know. It'll be old, look well taken care of, possibly protected." Dean listed.

"Oh great. Looking for a tree in an orchard. Shouldn't be hard at all." Alex grumbled sarcastically. Before Dean could reply, the cellar doors were opened. Everyone was holding a gun.

"It's time." the woman from the general store said. Alex looked over at Dean worriedly.

"Come up. And don't try anything." the sheriff said. Dean nodded and walked up the stairs. Alex followed right on his heels. Their hands were tied and the sheriff drove them, with the others in another car, to the orchard. Once there Alex and Dean were tied to separate trees. Dean was mouthing off to the sheriff, while Alex tried to think of a way to escape the ropes.

"Hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it!" Dean shouted after them. After they had gotten into cars and driven away Alex spoke.

"Dean I really hope you've got a plan." Alex said. She tried to keep the tremor out of her voice.

"I'm working on it." Dean told her. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna let that thing get us."

"Thanks." Alex said quietly.

"For what? Getting you stuck out here?" Dean asked.

"No. For," Alex paused trying to find the right words. "doing this. Fighting back, stopping their little pagan ritual crap." The wording still wasn't what she wanted, but it was the best she could think of under the circumstances.

"Yeah no problem. Thanks for putting up with me." Dean replied. Alex smiled slightly. Then she put her mind towards more important thoughts. She pulled the ropes against the tree bark. It wasn't very sharp and the branch was thick. Breaking the branch was out of the question and sawing through the rope would take too long. Her knife was out of reach. She wanted to howl her vexation to the wind and curl up and die at the same time.

"Working on a plan yourself?" Dean interrupted her train of thoughts.

"Yeah." Alex said.

"How's it coming?" Dean asked.

"Not so great." Alex replied. Both returned to their mental plans. Alex tried to saw through the rope as she thought on the off chance it would actually work. After several hours of not speaking, neither had gotten anywhere.

"How's your plan?" Dean asked.

"About the same as it was earlier. Yours?" Alex asked.

"I'm working on it." Dean said. Alex sank back against her tree. "Can you see?"

"What?" Alex asked.

"Can you see the scarecrow? Has it moved yet?" Dean repeated. Alex shifted around trying to see the cross.

"No." Alex said.

"No you can't see it or no it hasn't moved?" Dean asked.

"The first one." Alex replied. Dean was about to say something himself when they heard footsteps crushing the dead leaves on the ground. "Oh God." Alex said quietly. "We're gonna die." She struggled against the ropes and could hear Dean doing the same. The hours of sawing the rope had done very little.

"Dean?" A familiar voice asked.

"Sam!" Alex grinned.

"Alex?" Sam asked.

"Oh Sam." Dean sighed. Sam moved over to untie Dean's hands. "I take back everything I said. I'm so happy to see you. How'd you get here?"

"I, uh, stole a car." Sam said.

"Really?" Alex was still smiling and she heard Dean chuckle.

"That's my boy." Dean laughed. "Keep an eye on that scarecrow. It could come alive at any minute."

"What scarecrow?" Sam asked as he finished freeing Dean's hands. Dean jumped up and joined him in staring at the scarecrow's place.

"Hey guys? Untie me!" Alex said loudly.

"Right come on." Dean and Sam freed her hands.

"You okay?" Sam asked.

"Other than being hunted by a killer scarecrow slash pagan god, I'm good." Alex said. Fear made her more sarcastic than usual. They began running out of the orchard.

"Alright so what about this sacred tree you're talking about?" Sam asked as they ran.

"Source of its power." Dean said through heavy breathing.

"So let's find it and burn it." Sam said.

"In the morning. We need to get out of here before it finds us." Dean said. The crack of a branch and a flashlight beam slowed the three down. The couple from store pointed a gun at them. They tried to turn but found themselves surrounded. Sam nudged Alex in between him and Dean as they turned.

"For the love of God why won't you just let us go?" Alex exclaimed.

"It'll be over quickly. Let him take you. Don't-" the man was interrupted when a blade was stabbed through his body. His wife screamed and Alex dropped her eyes from the sight. Sam glanced over at her and put a hand on her arm. Alex looked up and gave him a small smile. The scarecrow caught the wife and dragged the couple away. The rest of the men from Burkitsville began running back to the safety of their town.

"Come on!" Dean said. The three of them took off running again. They made it out of the forest and turned back to look for the scarecrow. It never came out.

"You two okay?" Dean asked.

"Peachy." Alex's breathing was slightly ragged. Sam nodded.

"We'll come back tomorrow and burn the tree. I'm pretty sure I saw it when we were running." Dean said.

"Great. Can we get some sleep? Other than being unconscious I haven't really gotten any." Alex asked.

"You got knocked out?" Sam sounded almost angry.

"Yeah. Sheriff got us both." Alex nodded.

"Hope he dies of the plague after we burn that tree." Dean growled.

"No arguments here." Alex said.

"Hey Dean, where's your car?" Sam asked.

"We left it at the college." Alex realized.

"They might have towed her into town. If they made one scratch on Baby." Dean left the threat hanging.

"Lucky I brought a car then." Sam pointed to the stolen vehicle. Dean curled his lip in disgust.

"You couldn't have gotten something a little more stylin' Sammy?" he asked.

"Sorry. Next time I'll steal a Ferrari." Sam said sarcastically. He unlocked the doors and took the driver's seat. Alex hopped into the backseat and laid down across it. It wasn't anywhere near as large as the Impala's but was good enough. Sam pulled off a little ways outside of Burkitsville but far away from the orchard. Alex slept in the back while Sam and Dean reclined in their seats.

Early in the morning, they woke up and drove back to the orchard. Dean led the way to the tree, lighter in hand. Sam poured gasoline around it to make sure it would fully burn. Dean picked up and branch from the ground and lit it.

"You wanna do the honors?" he asked Alex.

"Thanks." Alex took the branch and set it on the soaked tree. The flames caught instantly and began shooting up the tree.

"That whole town's gonna die." Dean said.

"I'm real broken up about that." Alex said sarcastically.

"Too bad about that girl Emily though." Dean commented.

"She probably didn't even know. But now her aunt and uncle are dead." Alex replied.

"Yeah. We should tell her." Dean said. Alex nodded.

Once the tree was burned they drove back into Burkitsville. They found the Impala, and after Dean had given it a thorough check they found Emily. A short and slightly edited version of the night's events was told, and they sent Emily out on the bus to Boston.

"Think she's gonna be alright?" Sam asked as the bus pulled out.

"I hope so." Dean said.

"It kind of sucks that the rest of the town gets away with murder, literally." Alex said.

"What'll happen to the town's punishment enough." Dean told her. Alex nodded but still wasn't satisfied. "So can we drop you off somewhere?" This was to Sam.

"Nah. I think you're stuck with me." Sam said.

"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked.

"Nothing. I still wanna find Dad. And you're still a pain in the ass. But Jess and Mom. They're both gone. Dad is God knows where. You and me. And this little thorn in our sides." Sam bumped Alex playfully. Alex smiled up at him. "We're all that's left. So, uh, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together." Dean nodded.

"Hold me Sam. That was pretty cute." Dean hated the touchy-feely stuff. But secretly he didn't mind it as much as he pretended. "Come on."

"You should be kissing my ass. You were dead meat dude." Sam said as his brother walked around the car.

"Yeah right. I had a plan. I'd have gotten out." Dean said.

"You are such a liar. You had nothing." Alex retorted as she swung into the backseat. Sam gave her a knowing grin and took his spot in the passenger seat. Dean's music came on loud as they drove out of the soon to be dead town. Alex didn't ask where they were going. She just sat back and enjoyed riding with both the Winchesters again.

* * *

**So there's the end of Scarecrow. Sorry I'm moving kind of slow. I have summer practices for sports that take time. Plus sometimes the characters don't want to speak to me. I'll try to move faster with Faith.**


	13. Faith

They had been on the hunt for a few days. It was a Rawhead. Alex didn't need to ask what that meant. Sam and Dean had told her as soon as the name of the creature was said. They had tracked it to an old, very decrepit, and somewhat creepy house. Dean parked the car in front of it and they all got out and headed to the trunk.

"Now you know. These things are pretty damn dangerous. Be careful in there. If you get into trouble, just shout." Dean told her.

"I know." Alex sighed as she took the gun Dean handed to her.

"Remember you only get one shot with these things. Make it count. These guns will electrocute the son of a bitch and kill it." Dean said the last sentence more for Alex. "Let's go."

**xxxxx**

_"Why are we stopping?" Alex and Sam said almost simultaneously._

_"We are gonna work on your gun skills." They all knew who Dean meant. The three got out of the car and Dean popped the trunk. He pulled out a pistol and a flashlight. He handed Alex the pistol first._

_"Come on." he said with a nod towards the old barn he had stopped in front of. They headed in, first scoping it out to make sure nothing was in the barn. Dean tossed Alex a flashlight._

_"It's daytime." Alex said as she caught it._

_"It's for practice. We hunt at night a lot. You need to be able to hold the flashlight and still shoot accurately." Dean explained. He pointed at a hay bale. "Shoot that. As close to the center as you can."_

_Alex raised the gun. She tried to figure out the best position for the flashlight. Once she thought she had it, she shot. Her aim was off and she almost dropped the flashlight._

_"How 'bout I just show you the best way?" he offered._

_"Yeah. Sure." Alex nodded. Dean showed her where to hold the flashlight and how to aim the gun accordingly. After she had gotten good with the new position, she glanced over at Dean. He nodded._

_"Good. Let's hit the road. We've got a Rawhead to kill." Dean said._

**xxxxx**

Dean led the way into the house. They went downstairs, guns always ready. As they moved slowly around, they heard a creaking sound. It was coming from what was probably a wardrobe. Alex stood back as Sam and Dean prepared to open the door.

"One, two, three." Dean counted. He and Sam threw open the door. They were greeted by shrieks and the sight of two small children huddled in the corners. Immediately, all three lowered their guns. Sam and Dean bent down and helped the children up.

"Is it still here?" Sam asked. The children nodded.

"Alright. Grab your sister's hand. We're gonna get you guys out of here." The children held each others hands. The guns went back up as they steered the children back to the stairs.

"Go. Hurry." Alex told them. Sam and Alex walked close behind them. Something shot up from under the stairs and grabbed Sam's leg. The children screamed.

"Sam!" Alex and Dean shouted. Dean immediately moved around and shot at the creature.

"Get them out of here!" he shouted at the other two. Alex had sort of caught Sam and tried to put him back on his feet. Sam tossed Dean his gun and they followed the children up the stairs. Quickly they ushered them out of the house.

"Go home. And don't look back. Or come back." Alex told the kids. They nodded and took off. Sam was already heading back inside the house. Alex hurried after him.

"Dean!" Sam shouted. Alex raced to down the stairs. Dean was lying on the ground unconscious. The Rawhead was dead. It didn't take long for her to piece together what had happened.

"We need to get him to a hospital." Alex told Sam. They lifted Dean's limp body and carried it up the stairs. Once outside, they laid him in the backseat. Alex swung into the passenger seat and Sam slammed down on the gas pedal as soon as the doors were closed. They arrived at the hospital and Dean was immediately taken into the ER. Sam and Alex had to go into the main area to take care of paperwork. The lady at the desk told them that there was no insurance on file. Sam took out one of the fake IDs and handed it to her. After they got it taken care of, a pair of cops were waiting to talk to them.

"Look we can finish this up later." One of the cops said.

"No no. It's okay. We were just taking a short cut through the neighborhood and our windows were rolled down. We heard some screaming when we drove past the house so we stopped and ran in." Sam told them.

"And you found the kids in the basement?" the cop asked.

"Yeah." Sam confirmed.

"Okay. Glad you found them." the cop said. Alex nudged Sam and nodded towards the doctor that had taken Dean.

"If you'll excuse us." Sam said. The cops nodded and they hurried over to the doctor.

"How's he doing?" Alex asked.

"He's resting. The electrocution triggered a heart attack. A pretty massive one I'm afraid. His heart is damaged." the doctor told them patiently.

"How damaged?" Sam asked.

"We've done all we can. We can try and keep him comfortable." the doctor began. Alex closed her eyes. She knew those words all too well. "But I'd give him a couple weeks, maybe a month."

"No no. There's gotta be something you can do, some treatment." Sam said.

"We can't work miracles. I'm sorry." the doctor told them. Sam nodded and walked past him. Alex followed with a nod at the doctor. They went to Dean's room and found him flipping channels on the TV. He looked awful. Everything about him seemed tired and weak.

"You ever actually watch daytime TV? It's terrible." Dean commented absently.

"We talked to your doctor." Sam told him.

"That fabric softener teddy bear. Wanna hunt that little bitch down." Dean said.

"Dean." Sam said, exasperated.

"Yeah. Alright well. Looks like you're gonna leave town without me." Dean sighed.

"What are you talking about? I'm not gonna leave you here." Sam was almost crying.

"Hey. You better take care of that car or I swear I'll haunt your ass." Dean told them.

"I don't think that's funny." Sam shook his head.

"Aw come on. It's a little funny." Dean managed a small smile. Sam shifted and turned to look out the window. "Look Sammy what can I say man. It's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw that's it. End of story."

"Don't talk like that. We've still got options." Sam said.

"Yeah. Burial or cremation." Dean snorted. Sam shook his head. "I know it's hard. I'm gonna die. And you can't stop it." Alex knew the look in Sam's eyes. And she knew exactly what he was going to say.

"Watch me." Sam told him. Sam left the room quickly. Dean turned to the girl.

"Watch out for him okay? Don't let him go nuts over this." Dean told her.

"I will. But you're gonna get better. We'll find a way to fix you." Alex said.

"Kid. Please." Dean said.

"Dean. You do realize that if you die, Sam probably won't even continue the hunt for your dad. Unless it's to find a way to bring you back from the dead. Tell me that you wouldn't be doing what he is if your places were switched." Alex sighed. Dean didn't reply. "I lost my siblings. And everyday I think of something I could have done to save them. You and Sam are even tighter than I was with my siblings. But no matter how close you are, family doesn't give up on family." Alex told him. She turned to leave.

"Hey Alex." Dean called after her.

"Yeah?" Alex turned back.

"Thanks." Alex smiled at him, a bit sadly, and nodded. She headed out to the Impala where Sam was waiting.

"Ready to go find a cure?" she asked.

"Let's go." Sam drove them to a motel. Once they got there, they set to work. Sam gave Alex the journal and he took the phone. Occasionally he would ask her to flip a page to confirm a contact number. They went on for the rest of the day and well into the night. Around 4 in the morning Alex took a short break to check her email. She had never responded to the last email.

_Tyler,_

_Hey. Sorry it took so long to respond. Stuff came up. But that is dealt with. There's always something going on. But that just makes life more interesting. Out of curiosity, why did your mom ask if we were hunting? It seems kind of weird. The people I'm with are teaching me what I need to know. I'm a little busy right now. I'll try to talk more once we've gotten this dealt with. If you ever want to talk, I can give you my phone number. On a completely different note, what about your dad? Is he around?_

_Your cousin,  
Alex_

Alex sent the email and returned to research. She was stifling yawns more and more often, but she wasn't about to stop trying to save Dean. Sam must have noticed though and closed his laptop. Alex glanced up at him.

"We're not gonna be any good to Dean half asleep. Besides, we might miss something if we're this tired." Sam said. Alex closed her own laptop and put the books away. Sam sat next to her on the bed, both of them ignoring the fact the room had two. Neither bothered to change out of their regular clothes as they slipped under the sheets. Alex laid on her back, her hands behind her head.

"Thanks for helping." Sam said.

"What? Oh sure. I'm not about to let Dean die." Alex had been zoning out.

"What's on your mind?" Sam asked, rolling onto his side to face her.

"My cousin emailed me. My aunt asked if we were doing strange stuff. Or hunting. It just got me thinking." Alex shrugged.

"Did you tell her who we were?" Sam asked.

"No. But maybe their dad was a hunter. It would explain why Tyler doesn't mention him." Alex doubted the possibility but didn't rule it out.

"Oh." Sam paused before taking a breath and continuing. "I've been meaning to ask. How's the, uh, arm." He tripped on the words a bit.

"Oh that. I've stopped. Too busy trying not to get killed by monsters. Besides, I only did it cause I needed it. I don't really need it anymore. I'm not so alone." Alex rolled away from Sam so he couldn't see her face. Sam smiled slightly.

"That's good." Sam turned back to his usual side. Alex slid a little closer, just so their backs were lightly touching.

"Night Sam." she whispered.

"Night Alex."

**xxxxx**

Three days later had yielded very little success. Sam had found a faith healer through one of the contacts but other than that there was little to show for their work. Sam called their dad. As expected, he didn't pick up. Sam left a message, attempting to explain the situation. He hung up and turned to his laptop when there was a knock at the door. Alex glanced at him and he got up, moving slowly and cautiously. He opened the door to reveal Dean.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked. Alex jumped off the bed and rushed over to the door.

"I checked myself out." Dean said as though it was obvious.

"Are you crazy?" Sam asked.

"I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot." Dean complained as he leaned against against the dresser.

"You know this whole 'I laugh in the face of death' thing, it's crap. I can see right through it." Sam said. Dean stood for a second before attempting to move.

"Yeah whatever dude." He began moving towards the closest bed. "Have you even slept? You guys look worse than me." Alex moved next to him as he made his way over to it. He lowered down slowly and Alex sat down next to Sam on their bed.

"I've been calling every contact in Dad's journal, Alex has been checking the books. And we've both scoured the internet for three days." Sam told him.

"For what?" Dean asked.

"Oh I don't know. A way to save you." Alex said.

"And one of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist." Sam explained.

"You're not gonna let me die in peace are you?" Dean shook his head.

"We're not gonna let you die period." Sam said firmly. "We're going."

Dean reclined on the bed while Sam and Alex packed up their belongings. Once everything was packed, they set out for Nebraska. It wasn't too far to drive and the next morning found them pulling up in front of a small, tent church. It was raining and clearly had been for several days. The ground was soft and muddy and everything else was dripping.

"Reminds me of Portland." Alex commented. Dean looked back at her. Since he was in the passenger seat, she had moved to her old spot in the back. "It was always gray and rainy."

Sam parked the car and he and Alex hopped out. Alex waited for Dean, who curled his lip when he opened the door. He moved slowly but got out on his own. Sam and Alex stood on either side of him as they walked towards the tent.

"Man you're a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor." Dean snapped.

"I believe he actually said specialist." Alex replied.

"And this guy's supposed to be the real deal." Sam added.

"I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent." Dean sounded disgusted.

"Reverend Le Grange is a great man." a woman passing by said.

"Yeah that's nice." Dean called after her. They saw a man arguing with a cop about how the reverend was cheating people out of money. The sheriff just pushed him away.

"Guessing he's not part of the flock." Dean commented.

"Well when people see something they can't explain there's controversy." Sam shrugged.

"But come on Sam. A faith healer?" Dean clearly didn't believe it.

"It's time to have a little faith Dean." Sam told him.

"You know what I got faith in? Reality. Knowing what's really going on." Dean retorted. Sam chuckled.

"How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see everyday?" Sam asked.

"Exactly. We see them. We know they're real." Dean thought this only proved his point.

"If you know all that's out there how can you not believe there's good?" Alex asked.

"Because I see what evil does to good people." Dean said.

"Maybe God works in mysterious ways." A girl turned around to face them.

"Maybe he does." Dean smiled. Alex and Sam turned to look at him. "And I think he just turned me around on the subject."

"Yeah. I'm sure." the girl smiled back.

"I'm Dean." Dean extended his hand to her. "This is Sam and Alex."

"Lela." the girl shook his hand. "So if you're not a believer than why are you here?"

"Apparently these two believe enough to cover us." Dean said. A woman came up and escorted Lela inside.

"I'll betcha she can work in some mysterious ways." Alex and Sam just shook their heads and smiled as they entered the tent.

"Yeah. Peace, love, and trust all over." Dean said with a nod towards security cameras mounted on the posts. Dean moved to take a seat at the back but Sam pulled him forward.

"What're you doing? Let's sit back here." Dean pointed at the seats.

"No we're sitting up front." Sam said.

"What? Why?" Dean whispered loudly.

"Come on." Sam pulled him up the aisle.

"Come on guys." Dean groaned.

"Doing okay?" Alex asked.

"I'm fine. Get off me." Dean shrugged off Sam's arms.

"There." Alex pointed towards three seats along the aisle in the second row. They filed in, with Sam insisting that Dean stay on the aisle so he could get out easily.

"This is ridiculous." Dean complained.

"Just relax Dean. Who knows. This might actually work." Alex said.


End file.
